


Sleeping Beauty

by VampireRose



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Chronic Illness, Diabetes, Diabetic Gabriel (Supernatural), Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Narcoleptic Castiel (Supernatural), Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireRose/pseuds/VampireRose
Summary: Supernatural High School AUSam and Dean Winchester have moved around their whole lives- ever since their mother died. They follow simple rules for each other- Don't try out for sports. Don't get too attached.Don't anger Dad when he's drinking.Their newest house brings them right next door to a huge, but friendly, family that accepts them despite their own misfortune.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	1. Sam

“Hey, Sammy,” He woke to Dean shaking his shoulder. “We’re here.”

Sam sat up and stretched as much as he could in the backseat of their car. He looked out the window to see the new house. It was kind of small, he thought, but that didn’t matter. It was just the three of them and they would probably be gone before the start of next school year. Behind them, a rental pickup truck with a Uhaul trailer parked. John, Sam and Dean’s father, was driving it.

“Sam, help your brother take things inside,” That was him. He’d knocked his palm against the side of the door and Sam slid out of the car, accepting the box that was handed to him, abandoning his backpack in the backseat. He’d get it later.

After checking the label on the box- Kitchen- he wandered through the house, trying to find the kitchen in the unfamiliar layout. He did soon- there were only so many rooms- and set the box on the counter, going out to get another.

“Hey, look,” Dean was standing by the trunk, looking to the side. “We have neighbors.” Sam followed his gaze and sure enough, there were kids playing in the yard. None of them looked to be even Sam’s age, one was a toddler and there was a baby nearby. As the brothers watched, a boy sitting on the porch behind a book, he looked to be about their age but neither of them had seen him, looked up and spotted them. He leaned forward to tap an older person on the shoulder, pointing to them. He followed the teen’s finger and stood up, picking up the baby. The teen put his book down and followed, the children’s play stopping as they watched.

“Hi,” The older of the two greeted. He looked to be hardly older than Dean. “Are you guys moving in?”

“Yes, we are,” John emerged from behind the trailer, holding a box. “I’m John Winchester, these are my sons Sam and Dean.”

“I’m Sam,” He helpfully supplied, taking the box from his father.

“I’m Gabriel Shurley. Do you need help unpacking? We’ve got plenty of hands. Big family and all that,” Gabriel motioned behind him to the children standing on the yard, watching.

“That would be great, actually,” John glanced at his sons, both of whom were holding boxes. “Take those in boys.” He then turned back to Gabriel, who shifted the baby on his hip. “If that isn’t too much trouble.” 

“Of course not,” Gabriel grinned. It was a slightly mischievous smile, like he’d been up to something. “Let me just put Sophia down and grab some of them. Cas, why don’t you stay and help?”

“Okay,” ‘Cas’ responded softly. He had unruly black hair, as if he’d just rolled out of bed, some strands falling in front of his blue eyes. “I’m Castiel,” He introduced himself, holding a hand out for John to shake as Gabriel headed inside his house. 

Within a few minutes, Castiel was put to work and Gabriel returned with two others- A blond boy of about 13 and an Asian girl with big framed glasses of about 15 or 16. He introduced them as Balthazar and Ambriel. With their help, it took only about an hour for everything but the boys’ rooms to be unpacked.

“Gabe, what’s lunch?” Balthazar asked, tugging slightly on Gabriel’s shirt. He had an accent that Sam couldn’t identify, not that he was good with accents anyway. Gabriel glanced at his watch and frowned a little.

“I’ve got to get back and make lunch, is it okay if we go now? You don’t need any more help?”

“No, we should be good,” John replied. “Take care of your family.”

The four of them left, Gabriel and Castiel last. Dean frowned as he heard Castiel saying something to Gabriel, something along the lines of “Are you feeling okay?” To which Gabriel replied that yeah, he was fine, as he pushed his hand against Castiel’s black hair. The teen was almost taller than him, but not quite.

“Wonder if he’s their dad or something,” John murmured.

“No, they called him by his name. He’s not old enough to be their dad anyway,” Sam replied from grabbing his backpack. There were a few moments of silence as the small family looked around their new home.

“Well, you two unpack your rooms,” John ordered. “I’m going to return the Uhaul and get you two enrolled in school. We’ll return the truck later.”

“Yes, sir,” Dean answered as both boys began trooping up the stairs.

About two hours later, as Sam was unpacking, giggles and squeals drifted in through his open window. He glanced out to see that the neighbor kids were playing outside again, this time though, more teenagers were sitting on the porch. The black-haired one, Castiel, had forsaken his book for a notebook that he was highlighting in. Sam backed up from his window and finished unpacking, then grabbed a book of his own from his backpack and leaned out the window. There was a tree that had grown somewhat close to the window and he wanted to see if he could get to it from the window. He kneeled on his desk at first, then crawled out. To his delight, he  _ was _ able to get into the tree. He grinned and found a good branch to sit on, then cracked open his book.

~

“Sam!” Dean called, hours later. Engrossed in his book, Sam didn’t hear. “Sammy!” When he received no response, Dean grumbled to himself, climbing up the stairs and going into Sam’s room. “Sam!” He called again, frowning when his brother wasn’t in his room. “Where are you,” He muttered.

“What do you want, Dean?” Sam asked, having heard the final call for his name. Dean jumped and turned, finally seeing Sam in the tree.

“What are you- Nevermind,” Dean sighed, shaking his head. “Dinner’s ready. Don’t get yourself hurt in there.”

“But Dad’s not home,” Sam protested with a glance to the driveway. Their father’s real car, a ‘67 black Impala, sat there but not the rusty rental pickup. “Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

“I’ll call him,” Dean replied. “I’m sure he’s just hung up and busy. He never wants us to wait for him. Come down, alright?”

“‘Kay,” Sam closed his book and tossed it through the window then began the process of getting back in the house. Dean left, pulling out his phone and selecting their father’s contact, one of the few he had. He was just hanging up when Sam emerged from the stairs.

“Dad’s gonna be late,” Dean said in  _ that _ way. The way that told Sam  _ don’t wait up _ . That tomorrow, John would likely be passed out on the couch, he and his clothes reeking, the car parked awkwardly. Dean would likely adjust it before John woke up, some time in the afternoon. The brothers would creep around the house, curtains drawn, all day. A glass of water would be set on the table next to the arm of the couch, painkillers resting beside it.

Dean carried two paper plates of box macaroni and fish sticks to the small dinner table, setting two plastic forks down next to them as Sam took a seat and grabbed a plate. They ate in comfortable silence. When finished, Sam glanced into the kitchen to make sure there weren’t leftovers- Dean had learned how to stretch ingredients to make meals that could last multiple days. There weren’t any, so he tossed his dishes in the trash and moved to wash the saucepot Dean had used. The older of the two ate slowly, fingers flying over the screen of his phone, undoubtedly texting their father in an attempt to get a coherent answer.

“Looks like we’re starting school in two days, on Monday,” Dean spoke just as Sam was about to go back upstairs. “I’ll take you out for supplies tomorrow.”

“Where at?”

“Smith Center High School. Doesn’t look very far from here.”

“Okay. Thanks. Can I go upstairs now?”

“Sure. Don’t stay up too late reading.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam grinned, taking the stairs two at a time, leaving Dean alone at the dinner table, running his hands through his short hair.


	2. Castiel

Castiel was reading when they arrived. He hadn’t noticed them at first. The little ones’ noise had drowned out their cars’ engine noises and he was engrossed in the story. It wasn’t like he hadn’t read it before- he’d read all of the books in the house at least twice, he just really liked this one.

He glanced up to give his eyes a quick break from the words when he saw them. There were only two at the time that he saw them- both teenagers.

“Gabe,” He leaned forward to nudge his brother. “Gabe look, we have neighbors.” He pointed to them and his golden-haired brother turned to look.

“Well, wouldja look at that,” Gabe stood up and grabbed Sophia, who was trying to eat a flower, gently batting it from her hand as he walked over to them. Castiel put his book down and quickly followed. 

Gabriel introduced himself to the new neighbors as Castiel studied them. The youngest, Sam as he later figured out, had scruffy brown hair and hazel eyes. He wasn’t as tall as Castiel, and had a bookish look. The other, Dean, was taller with short dark blond hair and green eyes. John, their father, was a bit taller than Dean and had brown hair and eyes, though he was graying a bit. Before he knew it, Cas was being roped into helping the small family unpack. Gabriel left to put Sophia down and come back to help, but until then, Cas was left with boxes in his thin arms. 

Sam checked the label on the side of his box and led him to the kitchen. Castiel noticed that, so far, it seemed that house had much the same architecture as his. It made navigating easy until he had a box that said “Sam’s Room”.

“Uh, where should I put this one?” Cas asked Dean, passing him as he walked into the house. “I’m not sure where your rooms are.”

“Follow me,” Dean told him. Castiel did so, up the stairs, into the room on the left. “Just drop it somewhere. Sam’ll unpack it later.” He then left Cas on his own.

After putting the box down, he took a few moments to survey the room. It looked much bigger than his did, especially since it was empty save for a few boxes. Much different than the two bunk beds and four dressers that he was used to.

Castiel lost track of time until Baz asked Gabriel for lunch. Cas checked and found that it was an hour later than they were used to eating. No wonder he’d begun to feel drowsy.

“Are you feeling okay?” He asked Gabriel as the four made their way back home. Gabe nodded.

“I’m fine. Maybe getting a little low, but not too bad. Just need to eat something, I’ll bounce back. You? You’re probably getting tired.”

“Yeah,” Cas let out a yawn. “I’ll be okay, though. I’m not the one who-”

“-Who needs to watch everything they eat, I  _ know _ that Cas,” Gabe grinned as he held the door open for his little brother. “You constantly remind me. I just don’t need you passing out on us. Best keep things to a strict schedule and everything even and good. Go sit down.”

Castiel obeyed, taking a seat on a couch. He began reading again as the kids played and bothered Gabriel about lunch. They were constantly chased out of the kitchen and away from the hot appliances by a grinning Gabe.

By the time he called Ambi, Baz, and Gad to the kitchen, Cas was slumped against the arm of the couch, his head leaning heavily on his hand and blinking slowly. Gabe bounced down next to him and handed him a plate of spaghetti and octopus hot dogs, nudging his brother to sit up and wake up after Gabriel bolused for the meal. He ate slowly, Gabe watching him carefully to make sure his face didn’t fall into the plate.

“Plates in the sink!” Gabe called as Baz took a pile to the kitchen. Castiel was pulled down to lay across Gabriel’s lap. With his brother’s hand running through his hair, he was asleep in moments.

Castiel woke to Anna leaning right in his face. Her pale face lit up and she ran from the room calling “Cassie’s awake!” as he sat up, rubbing his hands over his face.

“How long was I out?” Cas groaned as Gabriel sat next to him with Sophia. “Hi, baby,”

“Same as usual. About twenty minutes,” Gabe handed the baby to his brother, smiling softly as he watched her coo. “Wanna help feed her?”

“Sure, just let me wake up a bit.” Cas pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes, the other wrapped securely around the baby. “Has Raph eaten?”

“Eating right now,” Castiel turned his head to see his older brother sitting on the couch with a plate on his lap. “Taking a break long enough to eat this, then it’s right back to the books.”

“Raph, shouldn’t you take a break, like, longer?” Gabe leaned forward, elbows against his knees. Cas shifted a little, tensing slightly. He recognized the beginnings of the familiar argument. It had existed since Michael had gotten into college.

“I’ve got a test coming up that I  _ need _ to pass. Professor puts way too much weight on the tests and I’d prefer to keep my grades up.”

“Yeah, but you’re completely isolating yourself. Come on, it’s Saturday, relax a little.”

“Tomorrow I will. But, Gabe, it’s not like I’m completely shutting myself out.”

“You’re in the basement, Raphael, that’s pretty shut up.”

“Hey, shouldn’t we get Sophia fed?” Cas interrupted, standing up with the baby. “It’s already way later than normal, I don’t want her to fuss.”

“You’re right,” Gabe murmured, casting a look at Raphael as he stood. Annoyance resided in both brothers’ eyes and Cas sighed, taking Sophia to the kitchen where her high chair lived.

After a messy meal, Gabriel took Sophia to get a bath, sending Castiel out to watch the kids play and get some studying done. Like Raphael, he had a test coming up and wanted him to pass. Gadreel, Uriel, and Ambriel joined them soon later. Ambriel played with the kids while Gad and Uriel threw a football. They took a break, eventually, joining Cas on the porch where he was highlighting a few key things in his notes. As they sat down around him, Gadreel rubbed hand sanitizer on his hands, the scent making Cas’ nose twitch.

“You should study too,” He murmured.

“Did homework Friday,” Uriel responded. Gadreel nodded agreement. 

“I have a study date later, with Elijah,” Ambriel told them. “I won’t be home for dinner. Gabe knows.”

“Is he driving you or is Elijah picking you up?” Gadreel asked. Uriel huffed at the mention of Ambriel’s boyfriend.

“He’s picking me up,” Ambi replied, side eyeing Uriel as he laid down across the porch, football held to his chest. “And dropping me off. And feeding me dinner.”

“Does he plan to stay afterwards?” Uriel questioned, a hard tone to his voice. Castiel sighed and glanced away, knowing that there was yet another argument just boiling to start.

“Maybe, it’s up to him and if Mike and Dad are here. What’s your problem with him?”

“Does he even know about-”

“About my dead adoptive mother? That we live with three of our cousins? That our family has a laundry list of medical issues? Yeah. He knows all of that because we’ve been together for over a year now. I tell him things.”

“Tell who things?” Gabriel asked, pushing through the front door. “What’s got you two so bothered? Calm down, you're making Cassie twitchy.”

“Sorry,” Uriel murmured. “That’s my fault.”

“Right, well, don’t start anything else,” Gabriel leaned down to knock the football from Uriel’s hands and ruffle Cas’ hair. “I gotta go to the garage, cover Josiah’s shift. He was pulled away, family something-or-other. I’ll be back in a few hours, hopefully before dinner. If not, one of you guys make it. Recipe’s on the fridge, next to the schedules.”

“Alright,” Gadreel replied. “Have a good shift.”

“Thanks, Gaddie,” Gabriel grinned and jogged to his 12-passenger van. It used to be their father’s but he gave it to Gabe. Sure, he would prefer a smaller, cooler looking car, but he worked with what he got and he was home the most. He pulled out, leaving just Raphael’s minivan in the driveway.

About an hour of studying later, Cas pushed his notebook away. “I’m gonna go for a run,” He announced. Uriel shuddered. 

“Running in the middle of the day,” He grumbled playfully. “Eurgh.”

Cas nudged him with his foot as he laughed a little. “Quit your whining, Mr. Football.”

After stretching quickly, Castiel took off on his usual route. The Shurleys were an athletic family, with Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Nathaniel, and… _ him _ being football players, then Gadreel being a wrestler and Ambriel playing volleyball. Castiel had no interest in sports, he really couldn’t participate much, but he did enjoy running. The air opened his lungs and the movement helped him sleep. Besides, running cost nothing.

By the time Cas returned, sweat was rolling down his face. “I’m gonna take a shower,” He told the three teens still on the porch.

“Yeah, please do,” Ambriel wrinkled her nose jokingly. “You stink.”

“Aw, does that mean you don’t want a hug?” Cas spread his arms, grinning.

“Ugh, no,” Ambi shoved him away as Elijah’s car pulled into the driveway. “Go clean yourself up.”

Castiel saluted her mockingly, his laughter echoing inside the empty house. Everyone was either outside or at work. Or studying, in Raphael’s case.

Cas made his way upstairs, to his shared room. He grabbed a towel, his shower caddy, and the t-shirt and shorts he slept in. He didn’t feel like wasting a change of clothes.

The call for dinner came as Castiel was returning his caddy to its spot. Gadreel, who had been on his bed, playing on his phone, rolled off and followed Cas down the stairs. As they were eating, Raphael’s phone rang.

“Hey,” He answered. “You’re on speaker.”

“Hey,” Gabriel replied. “So, we’re swamped. I’m lucky I managed to get away for a few minutes to call. Turns out,  _ nobody _ knows how to fix a car in this entire city today but us.” He sighed heavily. “I probably won’t be home till really late. Make sure everyone gets to bed and gets showers, okay? And-”

“Gabe, we’ve been doing this together for years,” Raphael interrupted. “I can take care of it. We’re fine.”

“I know, just… When you put Sophia down, make sure to leave my desk light on, okay?”

“Anything else, Lord Gabriel?” Nathaniel smirked.

“Yeah, lose the ‘tude, Nat. I can still whoop your- Your butt.”

“Nice save,” Gadreel chuckled.

“Sensitive ears- Oh, hold on.” There was some sound on the other side of the line, then a muffled yell from Gabriel- “Two more minutes, swear!” He then focused back on the call. “Sorry guys, gotta go. We’re short staffed without Josiah and I gotta get back to the car I was working on.”

“See you, Gabe,” Raphael replied, hanging up the call. He then glanced around the room at the faces that ranged from two to eighteen. “You heard him. No arguing with bedtimes tonight, you hear? If he does manage to get back before then, he’s going to be exhausted.” Nods from most of them. “Good. Baz, did you take your meds?”

Balthazar wordlessly held up an orange prescription pill bottle and gave it a rattle, his mouth full of food.

Around nine, Sophia and Anna were already in bed. Cas was helping herd Rachel and Balthazar into bathrooms for showers. They were on their way to bed when Nathaniel and Ambriel, having returned from Elijah’s, took theirs. There were only two showers in the household, so showers took a while for the huge family.

Castiel and Ambriel both took their needed pre-bedtime medicines in the same room- it was easier to keep all the meds in one bathroom than try to split them and try to remember who's meds were where. After exchanging a few quick words with the oldest three present, Cas made his way to bed, climbing into the top bunk carefully to avoid waking Balthazar, who was sleeping in the bottom bunk.

He dropped off to sleep moments later, earbuds in, listening to music.

~

Castiel woke up a few hours later to his phone alarm going off. He shut it off, squinting against the bright screen. He crept down the stairs to take the second dose of his medicine, a very inconvenient but effective prescription. At least he could stay awake through the day with only a few naps.

After taking the second dose, Cas decided to check on who might be sleeping on the couches. You never really knew who would be in bed and who wouldn’t, especially with the work schedules of the oldest four in the house. After turning on his phone flashlight, he found Gabriel curled up, sound asleep in his stained work uniform. Castiel simply leaned over the sleeping man and pulled a blanket from the back of the couch onto him. He smoothed it out carefully and peeked outside to count the cars. All four were in the driveway, for once. Cas poked his head in the bedroom on this floor of the house and nodded once to himself after seeing the shape lying on the bed. He then crept downstairs, holding back a yawn. He really should have just gone back to sleep.

He tiptoed into Raphael’s room, avoiding shining his flashlight on him, then glanced into Michael’s. As he’d hoped, his dark-haired brother was indeed sleeping. Satisfied, he turned Gabriel’s desk light off in the other room, didn’t wake Sophia who’s crib resided next to Gabe’s bed, then ghosted his way back upstairs. However, due to the effectiveness of the medicine, he was already falling asleep. Instead of trying to force his heavy feet up the stairs, he stumbled to the couch Gabriel was not sleeping on and fell on it, asleep before he made contact with the fabric.


	3. Sam

Sam trudged to the Impala after John and Dean. He wasn’t very excited about starting school. The year had already begun and everyone had found their friend groups. He’d be an outsider, like always. They were leaving early to get to the school and get the last things dealt with in the office. Despite this, there was already someone leaving the house next to them. It was a tall dark-haired man that obviously didn’t want to stand around talking. He simply got in his car and left.

The drive to the school was silent. Sam didn’t feel like talking and John never spoke much. Just the swell of the radio filled the emptiness.

They got to the school and, after a conversation Sam didn’t pay attention to, he got his schedule. His first class was a junior-level English class. Thanks to his self-teaching, he’d always been ahead in English and had tested above. An office aide took him to the classroom and led him inside.

“Class,” The teacher interrupted his lecture. “We have a new student. This is Sam Winchester, and I trust that you’ll introduce yourselves to him.” Sam let his gaze wander over the classroom, trying to remember as many faces as he could and assess who would be good to be around and who wouldn’t. He’d gotten good at that. His eyes widened when he saw Castiel, who was staring at him in some surprise as well. “Sam, why don’t you go to that empty desk?”

Sam looked to see the teacher- Mr. Benedict- motion to the empty desk next to Castiel, who moved his bag from the seat. Sam silently walked over to it and sat down. Immediately, Castiel, with eyes glued to the teacher, leaned over and whispered, “How old _are_ you? There’s no way you’re a junior.”

“Fourteen,” Sam whispered back. “I tested high.”

“Now, I’m going to push the test back till tomorrow-” Mr. Benedict was interrupted by cheers, which he took graciously and waited for the noise to die down. “This is for Sam. I would like you to try to take our test. It won’t go against your grade, I just want to see where you’re at. Does that work?”

Sam nodded. “Yes, sir,” He replied softly. Mr. Benedict nodded and turned to his whiteboard, beginning notes. Through the rest of class, the class obediently took notes until the teacher told them to put them away, they were done for the day.

“Hey,” Castiel leaned over to him again. “Do you want to borrow my notes to see what you’re behind on?”

“Would that be okay?” Sam asked, somewhat surprised. Castiel nodded.

“If you want, we can quiz each other. That’ll prepare us for the test. After school though, obviously.”

“Yeah, that… That’d be great, actually. Thanks.” Sam flashed Castiel a smile and the teen nodded, then spoke again, looking bashful.

“Um, do you think we could do it at your house, maybe an hour after school gets out? I won’t get home till then and my house is pretty noisy.”

“Yeah, I think that’s alright.” Sam grinned again, looking at the desk. “Your house does seem pretty hectic. How many people live there?”

“Thirteen, including my father,” Castiel replied. He flushed a bit at Sam’s surprised expression. “Yeah, it’s… It’s a complicated situation. Too much to get into right now.”

“No, I get it, I was just surprised. I’ll make sure it’s alright and then- Do you have a phone? I could text you.”

“Oh, sure,” Castiel gave Sam his phone number, saving the contact as ‘Castiel Shurley’. “When you text me, make sure to say it’s you.”

At that moment, the bell rang. Castiel waved a little to Sam as he left, leaving the teen on his own to try to navigate the halls to his next class. Luckily, the numbering system wasn’t too difficult and he found the classroom fairly easily. Unfortunately, however, there wasn’t anybody he recognized in the class. Same for the other two. On his way to lunch, he saw something he thought was odd.

Castiel was in the nurse’s office. He seemed to be fine, just looking tired. He seemed familiar with the place and spoke to a nurse with an easy stance Sam could recognize even without hearing what the teen was saying. Uninterested in intruding, Sam continued his path to the cafeteria, hoping he could find a group of people to sit with. Unsuccessful, he ate a quiet lunch alone.

Next class, the teacher sent him to sit next to a dark-haired boy who turned to him with a slight smile.

“I’m Nathaniel Shurley,” He introduced.

“Sam Winchester.” A slight frown crossed his face. “Do you live with Gabriel and Castiel?”

“Yeh, they’re my brothers. How do you know them?”

“We just moved in next door two days ago.”

“Oh! Really? That’s cool.”

“Boys, hush,” The teacher interrupted their conversation. They both turned to pay attention sheepishly.

After the next class, in which Nathaniel was in but sat across the room, the day was over. Sam wandered to the parking lot, lifting himself on his toes to try to find Dean. Eventually, he succeeded and hurried over to his brother, who slung an arm around him. Soon, John pulled up in the Impala to pick them up. As they were pulling out, Sam spotted Castiel dropping his backpack at a tree, talking to Nathaniel and four others, one of which he thought he recognized as Ambriel, another he thought was Balthazar.

By the time they arrived at the house, Sam had finished a worksheet from his math class. It was pretty easy. As he walked in, he glanced at the Shurley’s house, surprised to see that the driveway was empty. That morning, there had been three cars.

“Hey Dad?” He called as Dean went up the stairs to his room. “Is it alright if one of the guys from next door comes over? We’re in a junior class together and there’s a test the teacher wants me to take tomorrow that he offered to help me study for.”

“Stay in your room and don’t make too much noise and you’ll be fine,” John called back, distantly. Sam heard the fridge door open and a rattle of glass bottles. Sighing, he made his way up the stairs with his backpack, texting Castiel as he went. Ditching his backpack next to his desk, he grabbed a book and crawled into the tree, watching for one of the Shurley’s cars to pull into the driveway.

About forty minutes later, one did so. It was a big van and Sam soon saw the need for it. After it parked, Gabriel got out of the driver’s seat, a tall, dark-skinned teen got out of the passenger’s, and the back doors opened. Out of one side, kids piled out, all with backpacks and all heading inside their house after getting out. Gabriel and the other one, however, were busy at the other side. Sam soon saw why when a toddler got out and Gabriel emerged holding a baby. Castiel got out last and shared a few words with Gabriel as Sam shimmied down the tree. He landed on the ground as Castiel was walking to his house and startled him, the older teen backing up a step in surprise.

“Sorry,” Sam grinned. “Uh, when we go in, we’ll have to be quiet.”

“That’s fine,” Castiel murmured in response, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He followed Sam silently up the stairs and waited as he pushed into Dean’s room.

“Hey, Dean,” Sam started. Dean looked up and pulled his headphones off, letting them hang around his neck. He was sitting on his bed when Sam came in. “This is Castiel Shurley. He lives next door, he’s helping me study. Oh, and by the way, Dad’s taking a nap, so don’t go downstairs.”

“This early?” Dean sighed in response to their code for ‘Dad’s drinking’ and nodded. “Alright. You know the rule, don’t make too much noise.”

“I know.” With that, Sam turned and led Castiel to his room. Castiel let Sam copy his notes down, leading Sam to realize that Castiel was very neat with his notes, color coding his highlights and text colors and making sure the words were legible. The boys then took turns quizzing each other. Eventually, Castiel put the book down and shrugged. 

“You’re pretty good. You should do fine on the test.”

Sam grinned. “Cool, thanks.” He then stopped and frowned as he closed his notebook. “You mentioned that you had, what, thirteen people in your house? What’s up with that?”

“Well, I have nine brothers and sisters, but one’s… He’s not around anymore.” Castiel stared hard at the ground at that. “Two of my siblings are adopted and then we’ve got three cousins living there too.”

“Wow.” Sam murmured, then frowned. “Wait, that only leaves-”

“Just one more person. I know. It’s just my father.”

“O-oh,” Sam mumbled. “I’m sorry. “Uh… Where are you on the lineup? Of ages, I mean.”

“I’m the... sixth,” Castiel replied. “Michael, he’s the oldest, is twenty six; then Lu- Er, Raphael, he’s twenty; then Gabriel is nineteen; Uriel, he’s adopted, just turned eighteen; Gadreel, my cousin, and I are both sixteen but he’s a little less than two months older.”

“Jeez,” Sam murmured. “How old are the rest of them?”

“Ambriel, she’s adopted, you met her yesterday, is fifteen; Nathaniel is fourteen; then Balthazar, another cousin, is twelve; Rachel’s ten; Anna’s three; and Sophia, the last cousin, is two.”

“Wow,” Sam was obviously impressed. “That’s a lot. It must be really crowded, your house looks a lot like ours. Isn’t it small?”

Castiel shrugged. “I mean, yeah, but we’ve figured it out. Mike, Raph, Gabe, and Sophia sleep in the basement, then the rest of us but Dad sleep upstairs. Bunk beds are pretty helpful when there’s a lot of people, although I tend to hit my head on the ceiling in the mornings,” 

“Ouch,” Sam winced in sympathy, then shifted a little. “You mention a sibling that didn’t live there anymore? If.. If that’s not prying, I mean, I don’t wanna go too far. I’m just not used to the whole, bunches of siblings idea, it’s just me and Dean and Dad-”

“It’s fine,” Castiel murmured. “Just a bit of a… Harder topic. Um… Lucifer is just a little younger than Mike. Uh, maybe two years? I don’t remember. He left during his second year of college, transferred the semester after Mom died when Anna was born.”

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright,” Castiel forced an upbeat grin. “We haven't seen him since, but he send Christmas gifts. Hey, um, why don’t you tell me about _your_ family?”

“Well, there’s not much to tell,” Sam replied. “It’s just me, Dad, and Dean. Dean’s a senior, he’s seventeen, and I’m a freshman this year, fourteen. Mom died when I was a baby, and since then we’ve moved around a lot. This is the first time we’ve been back in Kansas. I was born in Lawrence,” He explained at Castiel’s confused look. “Dad takes business trips a lot so me and Dean are on our own a lot. Dad’s friend, Bobby, used to take care of us sometimes till Dean was old enough to do it himself. Um, I don’t know what else-”

Sam blanched as he was interrupted by the doorbell, launching himself out the door with an ‘I’ll be back’ over his shoulder. Confused, Castiel watched as he and Dean rocketed down the stairs then followed silently to hear Dean saying ‘Don’t worry about it, Sam’s got the door’ as Sam did, indeed, open the door.

“Is Castiel here?”

“Uh, yeah, he’s upstairs-” Sam started to reply to the blond boy on the doorstep, turning to see Castiel on the stairs.

“Hey, Baz,” Castiel smiled slightly. “Is it time to go?”

‘Baz’ nodded. “Gabe says it’s time for dinner.”

“Alright, let me grab my stuff. Go head back.”

“Alright.” 

Sam closed the door as the blond boy left and followed Castiel back up the stairs.

“Who was that?”

“Balthazar,” Castiel answered, pushing a notebook in his backpack. “He’s the middle cousin.”

“Okay,”

“Right, well, I’ve got to go,” Castiel straightened up, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. “Thanks for having me over.”

“No problem. Thanks for helping me study. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you then.”

Sam let Castiel out then cautiously made his way to the living room where John and Dean were. He glanced in to see John laying on the couch as Dean picked up beer bottles.

“We all good?”

“Yeah, he’s asleep. Thanks for grabbing the door. Who was it?”

“One of Castiel’s cousins, telling him it was time for dinner. Apparently, he lives with three of them. Nine siblings, too, two of them adopted.”

Dean huffed softly. “Big family.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Dean went to throw the bottles away declaring that he was going to start making dinner for them.


	4. Castiel

Cas found himself bombarded by a small child the moment he stepped inside.

“Where’d you go?” Anna wailed as she clung to his leg, causing him to stumble. “Why’d you go”

“How was it?” Gabe appeared from the kitchen, holding a plate of food. “Anna, let him go so he can eat.”

“It was alright,” Anna, poutingly, released her brother. “We talked about families after a little while. Apparently, his mom’s dead too and it’s just him, his dad, and only one brother.”

“Weird,” Gabe replied, grinning. “Your food’s on the stove. I wasn’t sure how fast you’d be back.”

“Thanks,” Gabe nodded his acknowledgment as he called down the stairs for Raphael and Michael, who had gotten home while Cas was away.

The two sat down while Cas was in the middle of eating. Michael’s hair was similarly messy to Castiel’s and Gabriel took the opportunity to poke fun at his older brother.

“Trying to look like Cassie?”

“Shut up,” Mike grinned lightly. “I’ve got like, and hour before I need to leave, I was trying to get a little rest so I don’t pass out.”

“Want me to start the coffeemaker?” Gabriel’s joking manner vanished immediately. Michael nodded. 

“If you could, after you eat, that’d be great. I’m gonna try to take a shower though, depending on time.”

Gabe nodded and Cas could see him filing the thought away to remember. After a few more minutes of picking at his food, Cas pushed the plate onto the arm of the couch. Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by Gabriel, who was able to notice something off about his siblings in a heartbeat.

“You okay, Cassie?”

“Yeah, just…” He sighed. “Side effects have been kicking my butt all of a sudden. It was pretty bad today.”

“You want me to call Dr. Novak?”

“No, it’ll settle. Don’t bother him, just give it a few days. I should be alright by the weekend.” Cas glanced at his brother. “You know, like always.”

“Don’t go getting sick in bed again,” Gadreel warned him. “I’m not cleaning that up again.”

“Was it  _ you _ he puked all over?” Baz challenged his brother. Cas’ head dropped into his hands with a groan. 

“I sure hope it doesn’t get that bad. Just keep in mind who the one that did the puking  _ was _ when you try to contest who had it worse, yeah?”

Uriel laughed, a sound that was rare for the serious teen, and stood up, taking some plates. “You all forget who had to carry him down the stairs with the very real threat of being puked  _ on _ as you moved.”

“ _ Okay _ we get it, that was an awful night,” Ambriel interrupted with a look of disgust. Can we  _ please _ not talk about it while I’m still trying to eat?”

“I’m gonna go lay down, see if I can shove away this nausea,” Cas announced, standing up. He made his way upstairs, dodging the Legos in the middle of the floor and calling to Balthazar to clean them up. He crawled into bed and sighed, playing a game on his phone.

He was woken up by Gad shaking his shoulder, unaware he’d even fallen asleep. Gadreel was standing on the ladder that led to his bunk, holding the two bottles he used for his meds.

“You gotta take this,” He whispered. “Second dose is here, too.”

“Thanks,” Cas mumbled, knocking back the liquid and shuddering at the taste. He’d never liked it. He accepted the other bottle from Gadreel and his cousin went to his own bed, the light of his phone appearing a few seconds later. Cas checked that his alarm was on then curled back up under his blankets, his drowsiness now becoming a medicated need for sleep.

~

The next few days passed as normal for Castiel. He suffered through the awful side effects of his medicine- nausea, headaches, dizziness, and an appetite even more decreased than normal. In the grand scheme of side effects, they weren’t horrible, but Cas cycled through them and every time they came back, they hit him like a truck.

Sam and Cas both passed their test, as Cas had expected, and got to know each other a bit better. English was the only class they had together, unsurprisingly considering their grade difference. Sam had the lunch after Cas’ and Cas knew that he’d been seen in the nurse’s office, Sam was just too polite to ask.

One day, Cas skipped the lunch line and simply went to his table, soon joined by his friends Charlie, Riley, and Crowley. 

“You okay, Cas?” Charlie asked. Cas glanced up at the redhead and nodded.

“Side effects kicking me bad this time around,” He mumbled. He heard Crowley laugh a little then cough.

“What was that for?” The British exchange student protested. 

“You.” Riley answered. “He’s not even eating.”

“That’s nothing new! Certainly not a reason to punch me in the gut!”

“That was hardly a punch, more like a nudge. Okay, so guess what happened in math today,” Riley turned her attention to the rest of the group, ignoring Crowley’s indignant muttering.

“What?”

“So, we had a sub and,  _ of course _ , they don’t think teenagers would have anything but earbuds in so she tells me to hand mine over. After going back and forth of me saying I really couldn’t, and her being stupid and stubborn, I finally gave in-”

“But you don’t have earbuds-”

“I know that, Cas, the sub didn’t. That’s the point. Later, I guess she tried to ask me a question but I’d decided to be completely petty and I’d just been staring at my desk and not reading what she said till Benny nudged me. I looked up, she said ‘answer the question’ and then I kid you not, Benny made sure I was watching then told this idiot ‘she can’t, you took her hearing aids’. Her face was amazing, she looked so  _ pissed _ .”

Cas looked up to see Riley’s face alight with a grin, laughter embedded in her eyes. “It was amazing. She had to go back to the desk, hand me back the hearing aids, and watch me put them in. After they were, I legit said to her ‘so can we start class now?’ It was awesome, really.”

Charlie and Crowley laughed a bit at the end of the story. Riley wasn’t that great of a storyteller, but they did it to humor her. Cas would have too, but just felt too bad.

“You wanna try to eat something?” Charlie asked. Cas shook his head, his nosed squished against the table.

“No. Too nauseous.”

“Aw, poor Cassie,” Crowley cooed as Riley began running her fingers through her friend’s messy hair. “Ow!”

“Quit abusing Crowley,” Castiel muttered. “Stop, Ri. Gonna put me to sleep.”

“Isn’t that the point of taking naps after lunch?”

“Yeah.  _ After _ .”

“You’re not eating,” Riley reminded him, then stood up. “Come on, I’ll take you over.”

Cas obeyed, knowing that Riley wouldn’t take no for an answer. He followed her down the hall, not paying much attention to their surroundings as he’d taken the same route every day since he’d gotten to this school.

“Castiel?”

The pair stopped to see Sam staring at them in confusion. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. What are you doing here?”

“I was going to the restroom. You look really sick. Like, you’ve been looking sick, but-”

“I’m fine. Just a headache, really. Like this morning.” It wasn’t a total lie. He’d had a headache pounding at his skull since he woke up, Sam had even asked about it during their shared class. 

“Alright, well, I hope it goes away. I’ve gotta get to class, so…” Sam left and Riley turned to Cas.

“Who was that?”

“Sam Winchester. He moved in next door to me a few days ago. We have English together.”

“Does he know?”

“Nah. Haven’t told him.”

“Okay.”

They continued their path to the office, Riley leaving after Cas was situated on the cot and half asleep. 


	5. Sam

Walking away, Sam cast a concerned glance over his shoulder. He’d seen Castiel with that brunette girl with hearing aids before, but only a few times and he was always with another group of people. He didn’t know Castiel that well, especially not his friends, so he had no idea who they were. It really wasn’t his business, though, but Castiel looked really bad. 

“Hey, Nathaniel?” Sam leaned over to ask in the class after lunch- Math. “What’s up with Castiel?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I have him in first block and he said he had a headache then, but I passed him in the hall earlier and he was going to the nurse’s, but he looked _awful_. I was wondering if you knew anything about that?”

“Oh. Well, Cassie takes medicine and the side effects have been pretty bad in the last few days. He’ll be alright in another day or two, they’ll wear off again. He cycles through when the effects are bad and when he hardly feels them, you just have to wait for it.”

“Oh,” Sam glanced at his desk. This was new. “Um… If I can ask, what is he taking medication for?”

Nathaniel immediately looked uncomfortable. “That’s… That’s not for me to say. You’ll have to ask Cas.”

“Okay,” Sam shrugged. “I was just asking. It’s really not a big deal.” He knew there was no way he would ask the junior what it was. Despite being really skinny, the taller teen intimidated him. It was something about how he stood or something, Sam couldn’t identify it.

The last two classes ended and Sam went searching for Dean in the corner of the parking lot, a place they’d unspeakingly agreed to meet each other. He found him on his phone, talking. When he saw Sam, he hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket.

“Looks like we’re walking,” He told his little brother. “Dad went on another trip and forgot to leave the car.”

“Great,” Sam shifted his backpack. It was heavy and the straps were already starting to dig into his shoulders. “How long?”

“Few weeks. He filled the prepaid though. Didn’t buy anything, we’ll go to the store Saturday. Gives us a few days.”

“Alright,” Sam followed Dean down the side of the parking lot towards their house. Of course Dean had already planned out a route, he probably had the moment they stepped foot in the school. As they walked, Sam noticed that they were going to pass a tree with some people underneath. As they got closer, he recognized Nathaniel and Castiel, the latter laying asleep with his head in another person’s lap, someone he didn’t recognize.

“Hi, Nathaniel,” Sam greeted, tugging Dean’s sleeve to get him to stop. “Is Castiel okay?”

“Cas is fine,” The dark-skinned teen standing against the trunk of the tree replied gruffly. “Who’re you?”

“Uriel, these are Sam and Dean.” Nathaniel explained. “New neighbors, remember? Me and Cas have a class with Sam.”

“I think I recognize you,” Dean piped up, looking at Uriel. “McLeod’s, third block? You sit in the back, right?”

“You the new kid? The one that sits in the front corner, never pays attention?”

“Yeah.”

Another person sitting there, Ambriel, looked up as a van pulled up behind them. She started to stand up and Uriel moved to pick Castiel up from where he was laying. The other teen picked up his backpack and the six of them, including Balthazar, who hadn’t spoken, moved to the van door. The front window moved down as they helped each other get Castiel into the back seat.

“You two need a ride?” Gabriel asked, leaning across the seat to speak. “We have room. Just need to pick up a few others.”

“I… I think we’ll be okay,” Dean murmured, always wary of accepting rides from anyone, even their neighbor. “We can walk.”

“Nonsense,” Gabriel grinned. “Get on in. You literally live right next to us. Uri, let Dean have the front seat.”

“Are- Are you sure?” 

“‘Course. Get in.”

With mumbled thanks, Sam and Dean crawled into the van. Castiel was leaning up against the window, still fast asleep, as Ambriel and Nathaniel dropped backpacks into the trunk. Uriel got in after Sam, pulling the door closed. 

“We have to pick one up from the elementary school, then two others from a babysitter’s,” Gabriel told them. “Doesn’t your dad usually pick you guys up? In that Impala?”

“Yeah, he just went on a business trip. He usually rents but sometimes forgets.” Dean explained.

“That car’s a beauty. I’d love to look at her at some point. Well, if you two need a ride at any point, go ahead and ask. I grab these guys every day and if it’s not me, it’s an older brother. There’s a reliable option if you guys ever find yourselves without a car.”

“It’s my fault,” The teen Sam didn’t know spoke up. “I can’t ride the bus. Immunodeficient and it’s easier to pick us all up than have me out of school every other week. I’m Gadreel, by the way.”

“I’m Sam,” 

“Cassie’s friend, yeah?”

“Hey, and mine, I know him too,” Nathaniel cut in.

“Who’s been invited to their house?” Gadreel shot back. “Yeah, I thought so.” A triumphant grin took over his face at Nathaniel’s pout.

“You two, hush,” Gabriel called back. “How was school?”

“School-y” Nathaniel answered.

“What’d I say about the ‘tude?”

“To cut it,” Balthazar answered with a mischievous grin. Nathaniel cuffed him over the head.

“Football tryouts are soon,” Uriel spoke up, ignoring the blond’s howls of protest.

“Baz, hush, please. Football, yeah? Nat, were you planning on going out?”

Balthazar huffed and sat back in his seat, his arms folded.

“Yeah. Dunno if I’ll make it, though.”

“You’re gonna,” Gabriel replied. “Dean, Sam, do you guys do sports?”

“No, we move around too much.” Dean answered.

“Ouch,” Gabriel winced. “Must be difficult. We haven’t moved, like, at all. The majority of us that have gone through high school have done football, Gad’s a wrestler, and Ambi’s in volleyball.”

“Does Castiel do anything?” Sam asked. Gadreel shook his head.

“He can’t,” He murmured. “He’s not interested in sports, that he’s said, but he can’t go out anyway.”

Sam and Dean kept their mouths shut, not asking why Castiel couldn’t go out for sports. 

“He’s a genius, though,” Uriel pointed out. “Top of his classes.”

“I’ve noticed,” Sam chuckled. “Got me an A on a test.”

Conversation flowed somewhat awkwardly as Gabriel drove, the radio playing and filling silences that came up.

“Someone wake Cas up,” He called back as they pulled into the elementary school parking lot. Balthazar, who was sitting next to him, began shaking the black-haired teen, who groaned and sat up.

“How long?” He asked after a few moments. “Oh, hi, Sam.”

“Thirty,” Gabriel replied. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just a headache and-” 

“This is more than side effects. Did you forget to take your meds last night?”

“No, I-” He cut himself off with a groan. “Yeah, I did. That explains a lot.”

“No wonder you were out before we got to the tree,” Gadreel muttered.

“I have narcolepsy,” Castiel explained, seeing Sam’s bewildered expression. “I have medicine that helps, but if I miss a dose, I’m really tired during the day. I take naps in the nurse’s office after lunch, that’s why you saw me there your first day and why I was going there today.”

“By the way, we’re taking Sam and Dean home,” Gabriel chimed in again. “Do you two wanna stay for dinner since your dad isn’t home?”

Dean hesitated, then twisted to look at Sam. The two had a silent conversation, basically consisting of Sam shrugging ‘I don’t care’ and Dean raising an eyebrow ‘decide’, then Sam nodding and rolling his eyes ‘sure, whatever.'

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Dude, that was psychic-level right there,” Nathaniel grinned, looking between Sam and Dean. “How’d you do that?”

“You get to know each other pretty well after you live out of motels half your life,” Dean replied, his voice taking a gruff tone. It was true, but not the real reason.

But they couldn’t exactly explain that it had started after Dean had seen Sam watching as John drunkenly brandished a beer bottle. They couldn’t explain that they had a secret code that nobody but them knew existed. They _definitely_ couldn’t explain that they’d had to learn to move silently, wear socks at night, take pillows if they were walking around and practically play ‘The Floor is Lava’. They couldn’t explain that they’d learned, young, to walk on all fours like a goblin if moving around at night so they couldn’t be recognized as a person, so their footsteps couldn't be recognized.

Of course they couldn’t explain that. So they went with a half-lie instead. It was second nature, for everything.

“Motel rooms?”

“Like I said, we move around a lot.”

At that moment, the attention was taken off of the Winchester boys when a young redhead pulled the door open. Uriel helped her in but she stopped in surprise when she saw Sam.

“Rachel, we’re taking our new neighbors home. These are Sam and Dean. Guys, this is Rachel.”

“Hi,” Sam greeted with a small wave. Rachel waved back and sat next to Uriel. Gabriel then pulled out of the parking lot, taking another road. Sam fidgeted with his hands as conversation sprouted up again, this time including Rachel. He noticed Dean staring out the window, absently turning his phone over in his hands. Soon, Gabriel parked in a driveway and left the van. He returned with a baby in his arms and a toddler holding his hand. After buckling both into their booster seats and introducing them- Anna was the toddler and the baby was Sophia- they were back on the road.

Gabriel finally pulled into their driveway as Castiel was just nodding off again. With a sharp nudge from Balthazar, though, he was back awake and following the group as they piled out of the van. Uriel had gone around to the trunk and was passing out backpacks as Gabriel pulled the littlest out of their boosters. Sam followed Dean inside after everyone else had gone in, standing by the door awkwardly as the huge family followed an unspoken routine that left the brothers feeling like outsiders.

“Go outside, guys,” Gabriel herded the youngest out the door again. “I’ll call you when dinner’s ready. Cas!” He turned to his brother, mind automatically switching. “Go outside, watch the kids. Do your homework while you're at it. Nat, Gad, go with him. Ambi, Uri, get your homework done and get outside too, yeah?” He then turned to Sam and Dean. “You guys can do homework inside or out, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got a paper to write for my classes, so I’ll be downstairs for a while. If you need a snack or something, go ahead and ask someone, they’ll show you where it’s at.”

“You’ve got this down to a system,” Dean commented as Sam followed Castiel outside.

“Yeah, well,” Gabriel shrugged. “Someone’s gotta take care of them and Dad and Mike are constantly working, Raph is swamped with work and college, and I want to give them the best childhood they can get. I’ve been doing this since I was seventeen.”

“I know the feeling,” Dean murmured. “I’ve mostly raised Sam on my own. Yeah, Dad’s sometimes around, but I practically became a parent at four. That’s when our mom died.”

“For me, it was when the oldest of us all, Michael, got his third job. Lucifer had left and Raphael can’t handle more than one job. Mom died when Anna was born, three years ago. We wouldn’t have to work so much, but so many of us have medical issues that hospital bills, doctor’s appointments, meds, it all adds up. People around town try to help, but fifty bucks and a foil-wrapped meal can only stretch so far in a family this big.”

“Sam mentioned that three of them are cousins?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel led Dean to sit down. Everyone in town knew the family and their struggles, so he was fairly open about it. “Gadreel, Balthazar, and Sophia. About a year and a half ago, our uncle was caught on criminal charges that’ll keep him locked up half of their lives. Their mom, dad’s sister, was admitted in a mental ward. We keep thinking she’ll get out soon, but then something happens that sets her back again. They lived pretty close beforehand, so they didn’t need to change schools or anything.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel shrugged. “It’s pretty sucky, but we get by. The kids are mostly happy, everyone’s keeping their grades up and they’re doing mostly whatever school thing they want. House rule, though, nobody gets a job till they’re out of high school. They need to focus on school while they can.”

“You mentioned you were in college?”

“Yeah, at NCK Tech. Raph’s taking every nursing course he can. I’m doing an automotive program. We both did our Gen Eds Freshman year, Mike and Luci did the same.”

“That’s… Gotta be stressful.”

“Yeah, but oh well, right?” Gabriel suddenly stood. “You should probably get homework and stuff done. Think I heard you say something about having McLeod?”

“Yeah?”

“Let me guess, she assigns an inhuman amount of homework. Don’t look so surprised, so far all of us have had her. I think it’s her ninth year teaching juniors and seniors, and I’m pretty sure she’s had a Shurley each year. Probably wondering where we keep coming from and hoping it’ll end soon.” Gabriel gave a low chuckle, shaking his head. “She should know better. Cassie’s friends with her son, he’s been over a few times. At this point, there’s no end to us.”

Dean laughed softly. “Yeah, I see that. You’re right though, I do need to do the work.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Gabriel patted Dean on the shoulder then left, bouncing down the stairs to the basement.

About an hour later, there was a scream from the yard. The door burst open and a herd of people rushed in. Dean stood up, seeing Sam in their midst.

“Take him to the bathroom,” He ordered. Ambriel, leading a sobbing Balthazar, nodded and obeyed. “Dean, grab the kit. It should be in my closet still.”

“First aid kit?” Ambriel asked as Uriel shooed the younger ones out and Gadreel hurried down the stairs. “But we have one.”

“Not like ours,” Sam replied grimly, wetting a washrag. “Balthazar, you need to move your hands.”

The tearful blond hesitantly obeyed, revealing a cut along his forehead. Sam gently dabbed the rag against the wound, wiping away blood as it welled up. Dean arrived at the same time Gabriel did, shoving a clear bucket at his younger brother.

“What happened?” Gabriel demanded.

“He fell on the trampoline,” Sam answered shortly. “He may need to go to the hospital if you don’t want me taking care of this. Might need stitches.”

“Sam’s stitches are better than mine, if you choose to go the cheap route,” Dean muttered. Gabriel glanced at him questioningly. “Our father was a former Marine. Taught us first aid.”

Sam was now pressing gauze against Balthazar’s head, nodding slightly when the bleeding had slowed. 

“Do you have rubbing alcohol?” He asked. “Apparently we forgot to get some.”

“Yeah, under the sink. Peroxide too. Nat was pretty accident prone when he was little.” Gabriel answered.

“This is gonna sting,” Sam warned before pressing peroxide-soaked gauze to Balthazar’s head. The boy cringed and backed away but relaxed a second later, letting Sam continue his ministrations.

“Sam’s better at this than I am,” Dean told Gabriel. Uriel and Gadreel had successfully herded everyone else out of the house, leaving the Winchesters, Gabriel, Balthazar, and Ambriel. Eventually, Sam finished without having to use stitches, instead using a few butterfly bandages to hold the edges of the cut together.

“Don’t move around too much till that’s healed up, okay?” He told Balthazar. “Give it a few days. You’ll be okay.”

Balthazar nodded silently, gazing up at Sam with unhappy blue eyes. 

“Come here,” Gabriel pushed past Sam gently and lifted the boy. “Let’s go lay down, yeah?” He took the blond upstairs, presumably to his bed.

“Will he be okay?” Both Sam and Dean jumped as Castiel asked the question, having come in without them noticing. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Dean answered. “Yeah, he should be fine.”

“You said he was twelve, right?”

“Twelve?” Dean asked in surprise. “I thought he was like, ten or something.”

“If he was ten, wouldn’t he be at school with Rachel?” Castiel asked sarcastically. “But yeah, he’s twelve, he’s just small. Medical stuff. He’ll grow eventually.”

About an hour later, Gabriel called that dinner was ready. Someone went to go fetch Balthazar as the oldest helped bring plates out. They didn’t have a dinner table, Gadreel explained it as an inability to ever fit everyone around one, so they sat on the two couches to eat. Some of them seemed to have seats that were specifically _theirs_ , like Castiel who sat on the very right side of one couch and Gabriel, right next to him, but the rest of them just split up between sitting on the couch and floor, some of them squabbling who sat where until Gabriel put an end to the fight and declared that since Balthazar was injured, he got to sit on the couch. Eventually, they started eating but some didn’t. Gabriel pulled out a small device and poked around on it a bit as Balthazar found an orange pill bottle and took two. Castiel simply picked at his food.

“Enzymes?” Gabriel asked after most of them had finished. The blond nodded.

“Took them.”

“Good.”

“Related to medical issues,” Castiel explained after seeing Sam and Dean’s confused looks. “You’ll get used to it eventually.”

“Story of our lives,” Nathaniel snorted. “ _You’ll get used to it eventually_.”

“ ‘Tude, boy,” Gabriel chided good-naturedly.

Once they’d finished, Gadreel took plates to the kitchen. Sam and Dean glanced at each other and silently agreed that it was time to go now. They left, thanking the Shurleys for their hospitality, and were almost out when they nearly ran into two people in the doorway.

“Mike, Raph,” Gabriel greeted. “These are Sam and Dean. New neighbors, they stayed over for dinner. Sam, Dean, these are Michael and Raphael, older brothers.”

They greeted each other quietly, Raphael soon slipping past and heading into the kitchen. 

“You’re home early,” Castiel commented as Michael sat next to him. Sam took a second to study him and found that the two looked quite similar, both with dark hair and blue eyes, though Castiel’s was messier as if he had permanent bedhead.

“Yeah, they let me off early. I’m exhausted.”

“Well, eat,” Raphael ordered, handing his brother a plate. Michael accepted it as Gabriel glanced up, remembering that Sam and Dean were still there.

“Will you guys need a ride to school in the morning?” He asked. Dean glanced at Sam momentarily.

“If you can, that’d be great.” Dean replied. 

“Cool. We leave at 6:45, so be ready by then, kay?”

“Yeah. Thanks, a lot.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. Always happy to help someone who needs it. Go on home, yeah? See you in the morning!”

“See you,” Sam replied quietly, following Dean out the door.


	6. Castiel

The next morning, Sam and Dean joined the family. Cas took his normal seat- the back window. No one could tell  _ why _ he liked it so much, he just did. 

“Hey, Sam, come with me,” Cas spoke up after Gabe had dropped the high schoolers off. Sam glanced at Dean, received a nod, and obeyed, following Cas to the spot in the cafeteria that had been claimed by him and his friends.

“Guys, this is Sam,” He introduced. “Sam, these are Charlie, Riley, and Crowley. Sam just moved in next to us.”

“Hello, Sam,” Crowley greeted. Charlie followed his example with a verbal greeting while Riley just nodded and waved a little bit, curled up with a sketch pad. Cas glanced over the top of it.

“Add a bit of shading here,” He suggested. Riley batted his hand away.

“Go back to your bees, Cas,” She muttered, grinning. Cas backed away and glanced at Sam, who was just standing there awkwardly.

“Well?” Crowley started before Castiel could say anything. “Sit down. We don’t bite.  _ Much _ .”

“Crowley,” Charlie scolded, smacking him.

“What is this, abuse the teacher’s kid week?” 

“Nah, just the Brit.”

“Cas, make her stop.”

“I don’t control her. She’s a redhead,” Cas cracked a grin, a laugh embedded in his voice. “You of all people should know that gingers can’t be controlled. Rowena’s your mom.”

“That Scottish nightmare’s like, peak ginger.” Riley smirked, closing her sketch pad. “Totally soulless. You should hear the stories about how much homework she gives.”

“Stories? I live that,” Crowley shuddered. 

“I’ve been hearing about it for nine years,” Cas chimed in. “It’s ungodly.”

“Unholy.”

“Unnatural.”

Sam watched the four friends in a type of terrified confusion, clutching his bag tightly. Charlie noticed and patted the freshman’s shoulder.

“You’ll get used to it,” She promised. “Give it a few weeks, you’ll be just like us.”

“I sure hope not. Don’t corrupt the boy.” This was Crowley. “Look at him, he’s all innocent.”

At that moment, the bell rang. The five of them walked out of the cafeteria, splitting up and saying farewells. Cas and Sam walked to English together after the other three left.

“You’ll get used to them, I hope,” Castiel started. “If you choose to hang around us, that is. I don’t know if you’ve found a friend group or-”

“I haven’t,” Sam interrupted. “I don’t usually try to, either. Gonna be gone in a few months most likely, anyway, so what’s the point?”

“That’s a very pessimistic view to have.”

“It’s my reality. Don’t get attached because then it’ll be harder to move away.”

Castiel followed Sam into the classroom silently, pressing the heel of his hand to his temple as another headache began to start. He was really over this cycle of side effects.

Sam was uncharacteristically quiet during class. Cas watched him out of the corner of his eyes as he doodled inattentively on a blank sheet of paper. He glanced at his younger classmate then scribbled a note and discreetly tossed it on his desk:  _ Are you okay _ ?

Moments later, the paper was returned.  _ I’m fine _ .

Cas tossed a disbelieving look at the teen, but didn’t press the matter, instead returning to his doodles. He doubted that Sam was telling the truth but knew this wasn’t his place to press the matter. He hardly knew the kid: All they had in common was an English class and a dead mother. For all he knew, this was Sam’s normal- quiet, reclusive. He had no place to judge.

As usual, once school ended, Castiel was the first one to the tree. Within a few moments, Baz and Gad had joined him, the other three filtering in. Eventually, laying down with his head on his backpack, he spotted Sam and Dean walking towards them, both of them staring intently at Dean’s phone.

“Hey,” Dean greeted when they reached the group. “Is your brother able to give us a ride today?”

“Yeah,” Gad replied. “He’ll be fine with it.

“I swear to you,” Uriel huffed in mock annoyance as Cas shifted for the fiftieth time, unable to fall asleep. “Come here.” Cas obeyed and his brother pulled him halfway on his lap, automatically combing his fingers through his hair. “Close your eyes, genius.”

Castiel did so and soon enough, his breathing evened out as he fell asleep. Uriel gazed caringly down at his adopted brother, eventually tuning in to the Winchesters’ conversation. They were standing a few feet away, still huddled around Dean’s phone.

“So we’ll go here tomorrow. Prices look good and it doesn’t seem like that bad of a walk.”

“How much did Dad leave on the card?”

“The usual. As it goes, we may be able to go out and do something in a few months.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Movie, maybe? Bowling? It depends on where we are at that point and if we want to do it while Dad is on a trip or when he’s home.”

“Could we try to do putt-putt again?”

“Sure, Sammy. If you want to.”

“What are you talking about?” Balthazar asked.

“Stuff we gotta do tomorrow,” Dean replied, tucking his phone in his pocket. Uriel gave him a slightly disbelieving look but didn’t say anything. At that moment, Gabriel pulled up. Uriel easily lifted the scrawny teen on his lap and buckled him in the backseat of the van. They drove off when everyone was buckled, Uriel in the front seat this time.

“So, does he always take naps after school?” Sam asked. 

“And right after lunch, yes,” Ambriel answered. “Sometime other times of the day as well, but lunch and school are the times you can always count on.”

"What's that like?" Dean asked. "Living with someone with a chronic medical issue?"

"Cassie's not the only one," Gabe spoke up. 

"What?"

"I'm Type One Diabetic. Baz-"

"I have a bone marrow failure syndrome, causes a lot of other issues." 

"A… What?"

"Bone marrow failure. It's called Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. It's genetic and basically, my bone marrow doesn't make all the cells in my blood right. Because my genes are whacky, I get to deal with other issues like pancreatic insufficiency, immune deficiency, etcetera etcetera. Not fun."

The Winchesters were speechless. In their silence, Gad casually flipped a page in the book he was reading. The knowledge of Balthazar's diagnosis wasn't a surprise. It was hardly overwhelming at this point. Gadreel had been 8 when his brother was diagnosed, he'd mostly grown up around medical terms being thrown around such as blood counts, bone marrow biopsies, the charts in the app used to keep track of results. Baz, having been four when he was diagnosed, didn't remember a time before he had the Syndrome. Gadreel hardly did and Sophia never would. 

"I don't tell people much because they usually leave. Stop talking to us cause they can't handle the idea of someone being  _ different _ , someone with something  _ wrong _ with them." Balthazar spoke bitterly, glaring out the window. "Never mind the fact that I'm still just as human as everyone else, I just go to the doctor more."

"No one said-"

" _ They _ pretty much did when they tossed me in a dumpster," Baz interrupted Gabe harshly, folding his arms and slouching against his seat with his knees pulled up to his chest. 

The awkward silence that followed was broken by Cas waking up. 

"Feeling okay?" Gabe called back. Cas nodded. 

"Yeah. Took my meds last night. What just happened, what'd I miss?"

"Told them Baz had SDS and I'm diabetic. That's all."

"Baz looks too sulky to have just told them about SDS. What else?"

"Nothing," Baz cut in. "Don't worry about it."

Cas debated saying something, but decided against it. Nathaniel turned another page in his book as Gabriel turned up the radio, disliking the silence. He never did like quiet. It meant nobody was around. He hated that feeling of being alone. 

"Can we get ice cream?" Anna asked as Gabe buckled her in her car seat. He debated it for a second, calculating and weighing costs in his mind, then glanced at the Winchesters. 

"You two want some?"

After a quick silent conversation, Dean nodded. "Yeah. We can pay for ourselves."

"Yay!" Anna cheered. Smiles crossed various teenagers' faces at the little one's excitement. 

Moments later, Gabe pulled off into a UDF parking lot. 

"One scoop, guys," He called as the family filtered out of the van. Uriel was already ordering by the time Cas walked in with Sam and Dean. As the brothers were discussing, he got a scoop of the Fudgy Cows. Following his siblings, he walked to the outdoor tables and sat on one, his feet on the seat, laughing when Gadreel shoved him. He dug his spoon into his cousin's ice cream, taking a bite of the Zebra Stripes as Gad took a bite of his. It was a tradition between the two, started when they were little and the two families would meet for ice cream. They were close, being the same age, and shared ice cream despite Gadreel's poor immune system. It was the one thing he'd refused to give up growing up as he got sick more and more. 

Sam and Dean soon joined them, sitting on the table similarly to Cas and Gad. 

"What'd you get?" Cas asked. 

"Chocolate," Dean answered. Sam had his spoon in his mouth and so couldn't. "Sam got vanilla. You?"

"Fudgy Cows,"

"Zebra Stripes."

"Sounds good," Sam remarked. 

"Baz!" Gabe shouted, holding up a pill bottle. He threw it overhand and Balthazar manager to catch it, nearly dropping his ice cream in the process. One handed, he opened it and took a pill dry, throwing the bottle back to Gabriel to toss into the car. 

"Thanks!" He called to his older cousin as he made his way over, poking at a small device. 

"What's that?" Sam asked as Gabe sat next to Rachel. 

"It controls my insulin pump," Gabriel answered. He lifted his shirt to reveal a small white shape embedded in his stomach. "This is the pump. It constantly provides a set amount of insulin, which needs to be modified when I eat. I do that on this-" He held up the device, "Which also tells me my blood sugar level and alerts me if I go high or low. It's a lot easier than poking my finger every few hours.” 

The group finished their ice cream, Gabriel giving little scoops of his to Sophia as Anna managed to get her face covered in the treat. Uriel, having finished first, took her to clean up. He returned after everyone had finished loading back into the van and buckled the toddler as she smiled at him. 

When they got to the house, Sam and Dean went to their own home, thanking Gabriel for the ride. Everyone else went inside and dropped their backpacks off, going back out and doing homework at Gabe’s insistence. He even joined them with his laptop, working on a paper.

~

Castiel woke up, as usual, to his phone alarm. He pushed himself up after a few minutes, rubbing at his eyes. He paused when he reached the bottom of the stairs, noticing that the kitchen light was on. He crept over to see Gabriel standing at the island, sorting papers.

“Gabe?” He asked lowly. The young man glanced up at him.

“Hey, Cas. What are you doing up? Thought you would have just grabbed your meds and went back to bed.”

“What are you doing?”

“Bills. Just need to sort them and get a few things figured out, that’s all.”

“Need help?”

“No, I’ll be okay. I should be done somewhat soon.”

“Gabe, it’s almost two in the morning. Let me help, you need to sleep and you, quite frankly, look awful.”

“Thanks, kid, you know just how to stroke a guy’s ego,” Gabe gave his brother a tired, lopsided grin. “You make a good point. You can help for a little bit, okay? Not long, you need to take your meds and go back to bed.”

Castiel joined Gabriel at the island, listening attentively as the older male explained his system. He was sorting the bills into different categories. The biggest piles were utilities and medical. 

“What’s that?” Cas asked after setting a paper on the medical pile. He was pointing to a pile on the back corner of the island, one that Gabe hadn’t told him anything about.

“Paystubs,” He answered. “After I sort the bills, I figure out how much each total is, total up the paystubs, figure out what’s most urgent, etcetera.” He took a sip of coffee, setting his mug back on the counter behind him. “Sorting the bills makes it a lot easier to figure out what needs to be paid when. I usually do it throughout the month, but I was slacking and ended up with just a huge pile of paystubs and bills with no organization.”

The two worked in mostly silence, Cas asking Gabe where a few bills went, for about forty-five minutes before Gabriel pushed Cas out.

“Go take your meds and go to sleep,” He ordered. “Thanks for helping, but you need to go to bed now.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Worry about you.”

Castiel obeyed, crawling back into his bed a few minutes later. Gabriel, after his brother disappeared up the stairs, turned back to his work, now pulling up the calculator app on his phone. The tawny-headed young man let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand over his face, setting back to his work and preparing himself for another sleepless night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact- Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) does exist. If you want more information, I will be adding it as I go in the chapters, but that will be slow. You can also comment and ask, or visit shwachman-diamond.com


	7. Sam

Sam was woken by Dean knocking on his door.

“Get up,” His brother called. “We need to go out.”

“Alright,” Sam responded, groggily rolling over and pushing his hair out of his face. Fifteen minutes later, he made his way down the stairs to see Dean sitting at the table, writing a list of what they might need.

“Will you need anything from the grocery?”

“I don’t think so. Do you have Lucky Charms on the list?”

“Yes, Sam, I have Lucky Charms,” Dean glanced up at him with a wry smile. “OF course I do. You’ve been bothering me about them since we ran out.”

The two left the house later with empty backpacks they used to bring groceries home when they had to walk. Dean had his phone out, following directions the tinny voice called out. Eventually, they got to a small market. About an hour later, they left with everything they needed, including a jug of milk that Dean carried. Their backpacks were full and they carried a few extra bags in each hand. Sam helped put them away when they got home then went to his room. He spent the majority of the weekend reading and playing on his phone.

Over the next week, he met up with Castiel and his friends. He was still uncomfortable around them- he felt like an intruder. They already knew each other. Castiel tried to help, and walked with him to their first class, but Sam was shy around new people. Their class ran over by a minute or so one day and Castiel waited patiently as Sam scrambled to get his papers together.

“You can go,” He told his friend, who shook his head.

“No, I’ll be fine. My class is only a little bit away.” Sam shrugged as he gathered the last of his papers, walking out with Castiel.

“Have a good day, boys!” Mr. Benedict called after them. 

“You too,” Castiel answered. 

Sam’s heart sank as he saw a few familiar faces moving toward them. He tucked his head down and walked faster, hoping they wouldn’t notice him, but realized it hadn’t worked when he felt a harsh tug on his collar, causing him to drop his folders. He groaned as he was slammed into the lockers.

“Trying to run away from us, huh, Squirt?”

“Alastair, please,” Sam squirmed, a lock digging into his back. “Let me go.”

“Let him go, he says,” Alastair laughed scornfully. The skinny blond glanced at his friends. “Now why would I do that?”

“Alastair, Azazel, stop,” Castiel ordered. “Leave him alone.”

“Yeah?” Azazel turned to face Castiel. “What’re  _ you _ gonna do about, huh? Call your big brother for help?” He fake pouted at Castiel, then shoved him hard enough to knock him down. “Go take a nap, Sleeping Beauty. You’re not gonna do a thing.”

Sam groaned as Alastair punched him. “Come on, let me go,” He pleaded. Alastair scoffed and drew his fist back for another hit.

All of a sudden, he was no longer there. A dark hand appeared on his shoulder and spun him around, his face meeting Uriel’s fist, causing him to stumble back.

“What’s that you said about my brother?” The senior growled. Sam looked up from his crumpled position on the floor to see Uriel holding Alastair still, Gadreel behind him with his arms crossed. The third teen with the two, Abraxas, saw the brothers, his eyes widening. He saw that both were occupied, Uriel with Alastair and Gadreel pulling Azazel over to the two, and tried to escape, attempting to blend in with the crowd of students trying to get away from the scene to avoid getting in trouble.

“Oh no,” Gadreel growled. He grabbed Abraxas’ collar and shoved him harshly to join his friends. “We didn’t say you could leave.”

“Oh, come  _ on _ , Uriel,” A blonde pushed her way through the moving and stationary students. “Let it go, it was just in good fun.”

“Beat it, Lilith,” Uriel snapped. “Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it, especially if they’re on the team.” Lilith rolled her eyes and popped her gum, stalking away. She was followed by a pretty brunette that glanced at Sam as she passed. Uriel turned back to the three teens he’d been worrying about before. “You three should  _ know _ by now not to mess with them.”

“Aw, what’re gonna do?” Alastair sneered, wiping at blood trickling from his nose. Uriel had hit him hard. “Tell us not to mess with baby bro or else?”

“Or else,” Gadreel answered, scowling. 

“Yeah, don’t you think there won’t be repercussions for this,” Uriel continued. “You’re all running suicides tonight. The whole team is, and you three get to explain why. Don’t you dare try to skip out, either!”

“Now get outta here!” Gadreel shouted as Uriel released Alastair. The three scrambled away, disappearing in the thinning crowds. The two then turned to Sam and Castiel, both who had stood up. 

“Are you two okay?” Uriel asked. 

“Yeah,” Castiel murmured.

“Sam?” Gadreel checked, walking over to them after shouting a few obscenities at Alastair and his friends.

“Um, yeah, I’m okay,” He murmured, pressing his fingers against his lip and sighing as they came back bloody.

“Yeah, alright.” Uriel scoffed. "You're bleeding. Gad, get Cas to class. Sam, come with me."

Gadreel nodded and he and Castiel soon left. After a moment of Uriel helping Sam gather his things, the two made their way to the bathrooms. Sam paused at his locker, grabbing a small bag from a hidden pocket in his backpack. 

The two set their things down on the counter of the bathroom and Sam opened the bag, pulling out a tissue and dabbing it against his lip, glaring at his reflection. There was already a bruise forming along his cheekbone and a small cut just underneath. 

"Done this before?" Uriel asked as Sam calmly but irritatedly wiped away the blood. 

"Not my first round with bullies, won't be my last. Just, do me a favor, please." Sam glanced up at the taller teen. "Don't tell Dean. He'll kill me if he knows about this, that it was happening and I didn't tell him."

"Really?" Uriel asked as Sam pulled out a small tube of concealer and began dabbing the makeup over his skin, patting it gently with his fingers. “You want me to  _ not _ tell your brother? That’s… If he’d kill you for not telling, he’d absolutely murder  _ me _ for knowing and not saying anything.”

“Uriel,” Sam stared pleadingly up at him. “Please.”

Uriel huffed. “Fine.” He pulled out his phone then held it to Sam. “Put your number in.” Sam did so and a few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a text.

**_[Unknown Number]_ ** **created a Group Text with** **_[Unknown Number]_ ** **and** **_Castiel Shurley_ ** **.**

**_[Unknown Number]_ ** **: gad, cas, sam said not to tell dean what happened.**

**_[Unknown Number]_ ** **: ur kidding rite?**

**_Castiel_ ** **: Sam, I can’t just not say anything.**

**_Sam_ ** **: Please don’t. I can handle it. Is it just Uriel, Gadreel, and Castiel on this?**

**_[Unknown Number]_ ** **: obviously. Why would i put anyone else on?**

**_[Unknown Number]_ ** **: u dont have my number do u? this is gadreel**

Sam added the two phone numbers to his contacts as Uriel Shurley and-

“What’s Gadreel’s last name?” It had suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know if they had a different last name, Castiel’s cousins.

“Milton,” Uriel answered quickly. “Their mom is my Dad’s sister.”

“Thanks.” Sam finished his contacts then worked on repacking the little bag, his phone buzzing as he did so.

**_Uriel_ ** **: sam said not to tell, so we dont tell.**

**_Castiel_ ** **: Uriel, Dean needs to know. Sam was just beat up in the hallway of the school he goes to. Besides, Sam is his brother, he deserves to know.**

**_Sam_ ** **: Castiel, it’s not the first time getting beat up. It won’t be my last. If I told Dean about every time, I’d be having the same conversation at least twice a month per school we’ve gone to. It became redundant years ago. He doesn’t need to worry about it.**

**_Gadreel_ ** **: look at u 2 w proper grammar n all**

**_Castiel_ ** **: There’s a reason I’m acing English and you aren’t.**

**_Sam_ ** **: My dad hates ‘text speak’. Yelled at us whenever we tried to use it, so I just don’t anymore.**

**_Gadreel_ ** **: depressing**

**_Uriel_ ** **: just so were agreed, nobody tells dean, understood?**

**_Gadreel_ ** **: i guess**

**_Castiel_ ** **: Fine. But you have to tell him at some point.**

**_Sam_ ** **: I will.**

Sam sent the last text with no intention of following through, then shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Ready to go?” Uriel asked, glancing at him. He nodded. 

“Just have to put this away first.”

After doing so, Uriel followed Sam to his class.

“Hey, quick question,” Sam started hesitantly. “What’d you mean when you told them they were running suicides?”

“Football practice,” Uriel answered. “Just started this week, that’s why Nat and I haven’t been riding home with you when Gabe picks you up. I’m team captain and Coach likes to have me running the practices. Leadership opportunity, he says. Perks of being captain, I guess. I’ll also probably be able to get you excused for being late.”

Sure enough, the teacher excused Sam for being late after Uriel came up with some fake excuse that they were talking about maybe having him tryout for the team. After ordering Sam to take care of himself, the senior left. Sam made his way to his seat, ignoring the vibrating phone in his pocket, ignoring the stares from his classmates as they wondered why Uriel Shurley, one of the most popular students in the school and football team captain, would be considering this scrawny little freshman for the team. Sure, his brother was on, but at least that one had the build for football. Sam looked like he would be trampled the moment he stepped on the field.


	8. Castiel

Sam had picked to sit next to Cas on the ride home, which he found out when he woke up from his nap. Usually it was Nat who sat there, but he was with Uriel at football practice and so wasn’t in the van. Ambriel wasn’t either- she was at volleyball.

The next surprise came when he looked to the driver’s seat and saw Raphael instead of Gabriel.

“Where’s Gabe?” He asked.

“Oh, you’re up,” Raph glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “He’s-”

“Right here,” Gabe waved a hand from the passenger seat. “Low, Raph wouldn’t let me drive. Could have just left me at home, I can manage my own blood sugar.”

“And let you fall asleep while I’m going to be gone for the upside of an hour? I don’t think so. Drink your orange juice.”

“Ew,” Gabe muttered as he picked up a go-cup. “Crap.”

Raph glanced over at him and sighed. “Told you you should have kept the straw in,” He pulled over and had Gadreel pass him an extra shirt from under the seats. He helped Gabriel change his shirt and tossed the juice-soaked one back to be shoved under a seat and washed when they got home. “This is why I wouldn’t let you stay home. Cause you’ll spill all over yourself. You could hardly get to the car o n your own.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gabriel muttered as Raphael got back in his own seat. “I get it, I’m incompetent.”

“I never said that, Gabe.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Here,” Gadreel leaned forward with a handful of Smartie rolls. “Check your sugar again and eat these.”

“I know how to manage myself,” Gabriel grumbled, taking the Smarties.

“Uncalled for,” Raphael chided. 

“Uncalled for,” Gabe mocked in a high-pitched tone.

“Jesus,” Raph sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he got off the exit to the elementary school. “You sound like Lucifer throwing a tantrum.”

“I sound like  _ me  _ throwing a tantrum, thank you very much.”

“Just check your sugar, I’m grabbing Rachel.” With that and a reminder not to let Gabriel fall asleep, Raph parked the van and got out to check his sister out from school. The teachers were used to seeing Gabriel come by and would just let her go to him but since it was Raphael, he had to physically sign her out.

“Fifty-two,” Gabe called out about a minute later.

“That’s down two points,” Baz replied after writing it down in the notebook used to track gabe’s blood sugar levels. Usually he was in charge of it, but he was too shaky to even hold a cup of orange juice so Balthazar was doing it. 

“How long has he been low?” Cas asked, frowning.

“Raph said he started showing symptoms about an hour before they left to grab us,” Gadreel told him. 

“That’s not good.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Gabe called back, cellophane crinkling as he opened a roll of Smarties.

“What have I told you about being an asshole to them?” Raph interrupted, having only caught the last sentence. 

“You wouldn’t hit the sick dude, would you?” Gabe’s head lolled with a lazy grin. 

“I’ve wrestled with you, Gad, and Baz. Don’t put your bets on it.”

Gabriel fell silent, focusing on eating his Smarties. It was when they were on the highway after picking Anna and Sophia up that he spoke again.

“I’m gonna puke. Raph, I’m gonna puke.”

“You’re just nauseous. You said that before we left the house, remember?”

“No, Raph, pull over.”

Raphael glanced at him then promptly did so. He jogged to the passenger side as Gabriel opened the door and dropped out, too shaky to stand. Raphael helped him away from the car then supported him as his stomach rebelled. Sam, who had been watching, wrinkled his nose and turned away from the window.

“Does he do this often?” Dean asked, concerned.

“He gets low fairly often,” Cas told them. “Usually he’s back up really quick, maybe a half hour? This is weird. He’s almost never this low this long, this is pretty unusual.”

“Someone bring out the testing kit!” Raphael called. Gadreel, who was in the front of the van, crawled over the seats to sit on the passenger’s seat and slide out with a small black case in his hand. He passed it to Raphael who took his brother’s hand and poked his finger with the lancer. Gad kneeled next to them until Raph sent him back.

“Dean, do you want to move to the front seat?” He asked. “Gabe’s gonna have to stay in the backseat and someone’s gonna have to be next to him, Cas or I preferably.”

“Sure, I’ll move.” With that, they opened the back door of the van to shuffle people around. Anna and Sophia’s booster seat were moved back, Dean moved to the front seat, and Cas shifted to the front bench seat so he and Gadreel would have Gabriel between them.

“So what’s he like when he’s got a low blood sugar?” Sam asked. “He’s not acting like he usually does at all.”

“Well, keep in mind that this is after an hour of feeling awful and lower than normal.” Gadreel reminded. “He’s not this bad usually.”

“He’s irritable and drowsy right now. And obviously nauseous and shaky.” Castiel chimed in.

“He’s not supposed to drive when he’s at a certain low, and he passed that point a while ago. We don’t like leaving him alone either, cause he could fall asleep while trying to bring his levels back up and that can be really dangerous.”

“He likes to go to his room when he’s got whacky levels, he doesn’t like us seeing him low or high. He’s not high often, but when he is, he’s got a terrible temper. He doesn’t want us around to see it.”

“When he’s low, he tends to have the attitude of a hormonal, depressed teenage girl-”

“Ambi would have killed you for that if she heard you,” Baz prodded his brother with a slight grin.

“Good thing she’s not here, then, huh? Anyway, he tends to take things out of context and  _ definitely _ not the way they were meant, like when he called himself incompetant after spilling the juice.”

“They’re coming back,” Rachel spoke up, looking out the window. Sure enough, Raphael was helping Gabe stumble to the car. Cas slipped out and assisted, helping Gabe onto the seat. He sat next to him and closed the door, Gabriel’s head flopping on his shoulder.

“Forty-three,” Raphael called to Balthazar, who wrote it down.

“He’s still dropping?” Gadreel asked. “That’s not good, he’s been eating constantly.”

“I know. See if you can get any more Smarties in him. We’ll be home in twenty or so.”

“Just kill me,” Gabe groaned. “Be easier on all of you.”

“Hush,” Cas scolded as he smoothed his brother’s sweaty hair from his forehead. “You need a haircut.”

“Don’t touch my hair.”

“Hey, Sam? Can you check if there’re Oreos in my backpack?” Cas called, switching his attention. “Should be in the small front pocket.”

“Yeah, there are. It’s a six pack.”

“Pass them up.”

Gadreel and Castiel coerced Gabriel into eating the Oreos and Smarties, ignoring his protests. They got home and Gad helped him inside as Cas got the little two out of their car seats.

“We’re gonna go home, get out of your hair,” Dean told Raph as Sam took their backpacks and left. “Send someone over if you need help, okay?”

“Yeah, Raphael sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Thanks.”

“You want to send some of them over to spend the night, get some out of the house?”

“You’d take them?” 

“Sure. We’ve got space. They’ll have to sleep on the floor though.”

“That’s fine. How many you want to take?”

“However many you need to send over.”

“Um… Baz, Rachel, Anna for now… Can you take Nat when he gets home? That’ll just leave Uriel, Gadreel, Ambriel, Castiel, and Sophia.”

“Yeah. Do they have any meds they’ll need to take?”

“Only Balthazar. He knows how to use them, he’ll have them.”

“Alright, send them over.”

“Will do. Hey, Cas-” Raphael grabbed Castiel’s sleeve as he herded the last of the kids inside. “Get Baz, Rache, and Anna stuff to stay at the Winchesters for the night. Text Nat that he’s going over too so he knows.”

“Will do,” Cas nodded and left, telling his siblings and cousin what they needed to do. Balthazar said he’d help so Cas went to check on Gabriel, who was checking his sugar again.

“39- Why am I still dropping!?” He demanded. “This is ridiculous.”

“Alright, know what? We’re going on a carb-binge, we’ll deal with the high later,” Gadreel stood up and went to the kitchen as Castiel urged Gabe to eat more Smarties.

“Cassie, no,” Gabe slurred, leaning heavily against his brother as he pushed away the Smarties. “No more.”

“I know, Gabe, I’m sorry. But you have to. We need to get your sugar up.”

“What about a bagel?” Gadreel asked, reemerging from the kitchen. “It’s something different.”

Gabriel groaned but held his hand out. Gad tore the bagel in pieces and passed it to him. 

“How’s he doing?” Raphael asked as he came in. 

“39, last we tested.” Cas answered. “He just had a bagel.”

“We decided we’ll binge him now and deal with the high later,” Gadreel explained as Gabe laid down in Cas’ lap.

“I don’ agree withit,” He slurred.

“You’re impaired,” Cas shot back. “Don’t fall asleep.”

“Won’t.” A few minutes later, Cas nudged him. To their dismay, he only muttered.

“Gabriel, wake up or I’m dumping you on the floor,” Raphael ordered. Gabe shook his head.    
  
“Don’t.”

“We need to test your sugar.”

He stuck out a hand. “Go for it.”

“Sit up.”

“Not so sure- Don’t manhandle me.” He whined as Cas forcible sat him up. “So rude.”

“You’ll thank us later,” Raphael muttered, inserting the testing strip into the monitor. “Forty-five. That’s better.”

“Hardly. C’n I sleep now?”

“No. Juice.”

“Gross!” Gabe shouted as Gad got up to get a cup. At that moment, Balthazar appeared from the stairs. 

“We’re gonna head over,” He told Raphael.

“Good, thanks. Do you have enzymes?”

“Yeah, in my bag."

“Good. Go ahead and go, thank Dean for me.”

“Yeah.” With that, Baz led Anna and Rachel from the house. Gadreel returned with the orange juice and Gabriel took a few sips before nearly dropping it on the floor. Raph caught it before it spilled again. 

The rest of the day, they worked to get his blood sugar up. He eventually rested around fifty-three for a few hours, bouncing a few points up or down every so often. At some point, Raph left to pick Uriel, Ambriel, and Nathaniel up from their sports practices. He’d obviously told them what was going on because when they got home, the three of them immediately made their way upstairs, Nathaniel leaving soon after with a packed bag and his school things.

Castiel eventually went to bed after being ordered to do so by Raphael and nearly falling asleep on Gabriel. When he got up in the middle of the night, he saw Gadreel passed out on his own bed. He made his way to the basement before taking his meds so he could check up on Gabriel and Raphael

“Hey,” He murmured softly.

“Go away,” Gabriel scowled.

“Shut it,” Raph nudged him. “Drink.”

Grumbling softly, he did so, from a gallon bottle of water.

“High?” Cas asked. Raph nodded. “Sorry. We had to get you out from the thirties somehow.”

“I’m sure normal range me will forgive you.” Gabe muttered. “Like a damn idiot.”

“Asshole,” Raphael sang in reminder of their rule: Only be a jerk to Raph, nobody else when the blood sugar levels are wrong.

“Normal state,” Gabe sang back. Raph shook his head.

“Go head back to bed Cas, we’ll deal with this here.”

“Alright, night.”

That morning, it wasn’t Raphael or Gabriel waiting for the group when they went to school- It was Michael.

“Gabe’s still high,” He explained as he drove the sleepy relatives to school. “Raph said he’s coming down but didn’t want to leave him. I called in late to work, they’ll deal.”

“What’s it mean, that he’s high?” Sam asked. He and Dean were still riding with them- their father hadn’t returned yet.

“High blood sugar.” Uriel explained. “Gad and Cas said they explained some of it to you. He’s been high since around midnight. He and Raphael have probably had about ten gallons of water total at this point to bring him down.”

“Total?”

“They tend to compete to see who can drink more water. It’s Raph’s way of getting him to drink it. Can’t do that with juice since we don’t just have it on tap, but water’s easier.”

Back home, Gabe was taking a restless nap. Raphael had a fan blowing on him but knew it would hardly help. Gabriel always felt really hot when he was high. He was only in a pair of shorts as a result. Raphael was working on classwork, having explained the situation to his professors and thankfully, they sent over the assignments. Soon, Gabe woke up and tested his sugar. Still high, he drank some more water and the brothers prepared for another day of the constant battle of Diabetes.


	9. Sam

Like the day before, it was just Balthazar, Castiel, and Gadreel waiting by the tree when Sam and Dean caught up to them. Castiel was, as always after school, asleep. The van soon pulled up and when they got in, Gabriel grinned at them, a lollipop hanging from his lips.

“Feeling better?” Dean asked as Gadreel picked Castiel up and tucked him into the backseat, Balthazar attempting to assist.

Gabriel shrugged. “Eh. I’ve been level long enough to drive and Raph had to run up to school. May be running low, though, but we’ll find out soon enough. Trying to make sure I stay up.”

“Don’t get too high,” Gadreel warned.

“I’ve been dropping from 420 all day, Gad, there’s not much chance of that.”

“When’d you hit that?”

“‘Round two. Cassie came down ‘fore he took his meds. I snapped at him, feel kinda bad. Should apologize for that, he managed to show up at my worst. Honestly, I’m surprised Raph stayed up with me all night. Would have thought he’d’ve gone to bed but I guess he didn’t want to.”

“You were high, he was probably making sure you didn’t break something.”

“I’m a jerk when I’m high, not destructive.”

“You broke that one vase.”

“... That was a moment of poor judgement.”

“You were high, every moment is a moment of poor judgement.”

“That’s more accurate when talking about lows.”

“No, those are moments of no thought. If you’re even moving.”

Sam and Dean were hardly understanding the conversation and when Sam glanced at Balthazar to see if he was following, the blond was focused on a sudoku puzzle, not listening at all. His attention was grabbed by a beeping coming from the front seat. Keeping one hand on the wheel, Gabriel dug a device from his pocket and handed it to Dean in the front seat.

“Can you tell me what number that says?”

“Uh, sixty-five.”

Gabriel sighed. “Just lovely. Do you have your license?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m dipping into levels where I’m not supposed to drive and you may need to take the wheel while I work to bring it back up again. Only if you’re comfortable with that, though.”

“That’s fine.”

“Oh, and I’m really sorry that we had to send some of the kids over to your house. Raph explained what happened earlier and I gotta say, that’s really awesome of you for taking them.”

“It’s no problem,” Dean replied. “Consider it some payment for getting us to and from school. Really, there’s no repaying that. You don’t know how much you’ve helped.”

“Well, so long as we keep helping each other when needed, we’ll consider it even?”

“Fine by me.”

The monitor beeped again and Dean read out a new number: sixty-three. Gabriel grumbled softly under his breath.

“I’ll pull over at a gas station. I think I’m out of Smarties and between yesterday and today, I think I’ve consumed every ounce of sugar in this car.”

“Fun.”

“Totally. Then it all comes and bites me at one moment and I get to deal with highs for the next eight hours and try not to murder Raph for trying to get me to drink my weight in water.”

“He does that to help you,” Gadreel told his cousin. Gabriel chuckled darkly.

“Tell that to high me.” As he switched lanes, he pressed the heel of his hand against an eye. At Dean’s glance, he explained. “Dizzy, just a bit. It’s like, another minute then we’ll switch. I’ll be fine.”

He eventually pulled into a parking space in the gas station and got out, going inside with a call of “I’ll be out soon.” He was shaky, something that became obvious as he struggled to merely open the door. A few minutes later, he was back out with a white plastic bag. Once back in the van, he pulled out a bottle of Coke, causing Gadreel’s eyebrows to raise.

“Coke? Seriously?”

“I refuse to drink another sip of orange juice until we get home and this’ll bring me up faster than juice.”

“You’re looking for safety, not speed,”

“Which is why I’m not going to drink this whole thing. I’m going to have some, wait and check, then probably have more. I know how to do this, Gaddie.”

“Yeah, who stayed up all night high?”

“If someone in a grocery store heard this conversation, they’d think you were talking about drugs.” Balthazar commented as he finished his puzzle and moved on to the next one.

“We technically are,” Gabriel grinned.

“Are what?” Castiel mumbled sleepily as he woke up. “Why’s Dean driving?”

“I’m low, bro. Again.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Sure is, kiddo. I was leveled out, too. Annoying.”

“How low?”

“Sixties. I’m working on it.”

“Shouldn’t be driving in sixties.”

“Why do you think I had Dean take the wheel? I’m not stupid, Cas.”

“I never said you were.” Castiel shifted with a wince. “Must have slept wrong, my neck hurts.”

“That does tend to happen when you sleep in a car,” Balthazar piped up. Castiel chuckled and threw a pencil at him.

“Shut up.”

“Hey, no throwing things in the car,” Gabriel chided. “I’m not even driving, come on.”

“Sorry.”

“By the way, Dean, we don’t have to go to the babysitter. We kept the little two at home since me and Raph weren’t going anywhere. I got one of the neighbors to watch them for while we’re gone.”

They made it to the elementary school with little problem, save for Gabriel’s muttered swears as his sugar levels kept dropping. By the time they were almost home, he’d had the entirety of one bottle of Coke and was cracking a new one open.

Dean frowned as they pulled into the Shurley’s driveway. “He never said he was home,” Sam looked out the window and saw the Impala sitting in the driveway of his house. Caution immediately filled him. There was only one reason why their father wouldn’t tell them when he got home. Instead of going inside and leaving Dean to follow, Sam waited for him as he made sure Gabriel was alright to walk inside the house. The young man swore he was as he got out of the van. After being reassured by Castiel that they would look after him, Dean nodded and the brothers made their way to their own house.

Sam opened the door first, carefully and quietly. They both saw the empty beer bottle on the floor, just in view of the door, and Dean handed his backpack to Sam, nudging him to go upstairs. He did so quietly and dropped the backpacks in their rooms before creeping down the stairs and peeping past the wall to watch. Annoyingly, he couldn’t see, but he could hear and from what he could hear, John was pretty drunk already.

“Where were you two?” He slurred angrily. “School ended over an hour ago, you should have been back before now.”

“We’ve been getting rides from the neighbors, since six of them go to our school. They have one in elementary school and two at a babysitter, but they weren’t there today. We usually get back a bit later.”

“Why’d you go getting rides from people? We don’t take charity, Dean.”

“I know, but they offered, and I thought it would be fine since they live right next to us. It was that or walk and it's rained a few days. I didn’t want to risk Sam getting sick.”

John muttered softly before ordering Dean to go get him another beer. He silently complied, frowning at Sam when he saw him on the staircase. He jerked his head upward, mouthing ‘homework’. Sam nodded and crept back upstairs. Dean followed soon after and the two worked together.

He was almost finished, about two hours later, when John called for Dean to make dinner. The teen got up and hurried down the stairs, obeying his father’s orders. About an hour later, Dean called Sam to eat. 

Sam made his way to the table cautiously, watching John out of the corner of his eye. The man walked over unsteadily, stumbling into the small table next to the couch. He tipped it over with a muttered curse then plopped down in his chair. Dean served the two of them and the small family ate silently. It wasn’t the comfortable silence you would expect out of a family. No, it was a pregnant, tense silence that the longer it went on, the more anxious Sam and Dean grew.

“Go ahead and finish your homework, Sam,” Dean told his brother, despite knowing he’d already finished. “I know you had a lot today. I’ll clean up.” Sam knew what he was doing. He was trying to get his little brother away from John. Heaven knew what he would do when he got like this.

Sam obeyed, climbing the stairs quickly and waiting in Dean’s room. He wanted to make sure his brother would be alright before he went to bed. A few hours later, he heard glass shattering and winced as raised voices were audible. One raised voice, actually, too slurred and alcohol-driven to be coherent.

Back downstairs, Dean grunted softly as John threw another sloppy punch at him. The man took another slug of liquor from the bottle and yelled nonsense at Dean about he “was such a bad son” and he should “always look out for Sam”, despite the fact that that was all he ever did, in Dean’s opinion.

Apparently, he didn’t answer an unintelligible question fast enough because John took a half-empty beer bottle and smashed it over Dean’s head, causing the teen to cry out and stumble backwards. He could feel blood welling up from where the glass had cut him and he pressed against the wound with one hand, looking at John, betrayal slipping through his carefully-composed mask.

“Go get another beer, boy,” The intoxicated man grunted. 

“Yes, sir,” Dean muttered. He knew better than to argue. He made his way to the kitchen, pressing his palm against his bleeding forehead. Thankfully, he’d left his phone on the island and, casting a cautionary glance behind him, unlocked it, fingers flying over the screen as he typed a quick text.

“Where’s that beer, boy?” John demanded.

“Coming!” Dean replied. He sent the text and snatched a beer bottle from the fridge, hurrying to give it to John and get out of the man’s reach.

Upstairs, Sam’s heart leapt to his throat as he read the one-word text from his brother.

**_Dean_ ** **: Poughkeepsie**

Sam glanced round the room, debating whether he should stay and wait for Dean or follow his instructions and hope he would be alright. Years of teaching won out and he scrambled to his feet, snatching his emergency backpack from the back of his closet before shimmying down the tree outside his window and pelting across the front yard, hoping desperately that John wouldn’t see and punish Dean for that, too. He knocked on the Shurley’s door, watching his own carefully, jumping when his knock was answered.

“Sam? What are you doing here?” Uriel had opened the door, greeting Sam in only a pair of gym shorts. 

“Um, Can… Can I come in?”

“Sure. ‘Course.” Uriel opened the door wider and Sam slipped in with a tight but grateful smile. 

“Uh, hey Sam,” Gabriel greeted confusedly. He was sitting on a couch with a pack of Oreos on his lap, Castiel next to him as he snatched the cookies.

“Hey. Can… Can I stay here tonight? Or at least till Dean calls me back?”

“Yeah, of course. What’s going on?”

Gadreel, sitting nearby, noticed Sam’s uncomfortable look and stood up. “Cas, why don’t we go to bed early? You’ve been looking pretty tired.”

“Alright,” Castiel got up and followed his cousin out, casting Sam a concerned glance. Now, only Gabriel and Uriel were left in the room. It being just past ten, Sam assumed that everyone else was already in bed.

“So, Sam, what’s up?” Gabriel asked, taking a bite of an Oreo. “You can sit down.”

“Uh, Dad got drunk and Dean didn’t want me in the house. Dad’s usually pretty tired after a trip and when he’s tired and he drinks, he gets kinda mean and Dean doesn’t want me around that.”

“How often does this happen?” Gabriel asked, a frown crossing his face. Sam shifted uncomfortably

“Not too often,” He lied. “We just like a backup plan.”

“How often, Sam?” Gabriel leaned forward, speaking softly. “Once a month? Twice?”

Sam hesitated and sighed. “At least four.”

“He drinks around you two?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“That’s not alright, kiddo. How badly drunk is he around you?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Gabriel, he’s just stressed. He had to raise two kids on his own and-”

“I’ve been basically the father of nine kids for multiple years and you don’t see me drinking around them or at all,” Gabriel interrupted. “Answer the question. How badly drunk is he round you? Has he ever yelled at you or gotten violent while drunk?”

Sam huffed out a sigh and Gabriel took his reluctance to answer as hesitance due to multiple people’s presence and ordered Uriel off to bed, ignoring his protests. 

“Sam, has he ever hurt you or Dean?” Gabriel turned once again to the young teen, his whiskey-colored eyes deadly serious and concerned. 

“Gabriel, please,” Sam nearly begged. “I don’t want to be interrogated. I just have to wait for Dean to text me and tell me it’s okay to go back home.”

Gabriel regarded Sam for a few minutes. He legitimately looked afraid of the conversation he was attempting to avert, emotion swirling in his hazel eyes. 

“Alright,” He finally conceded. “I’ll wait up with you. Can’t go to sleep right now, anyway. Oreo?”

Sam accepted one. “What do you mean you can’t go to sleep right now?”

“Sleeping tends to lower blood sugar since you obviously aren’t eating anything and if you’re already low, like I am right now, you could go to sleep and not wake up. You can actually get so dangerously low that you pass out and fall into what’s called a diabetic coma, when your blood sugar level is so low that it’s preventing glucose from getting to your brain and causes you to pass out. It’s not very fun and I’ve done it once, right around when I was diagnosed. None of us had recognized the signs of low blood sugar at the time and didn’t know what to do. We just thought I was sick so I spent the day in bed, not eating anything, and after too long of that, I ended up passing out and going to the hospital.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It really is, which is why I’m eating Oreos. I’m gonna check in a few minutes to see if they boosted me up enough to go to bed.”

“Where’s Raphael? Wasn’t he watching you yesterday?”

“He went to bed early. He didn’t sleep last night and didn't get to take naps like I attempted to do. I made him go to bed after telling him I’d have someone watching me.” Gabriel grinned at Sam. “Guess that makes you my babysitter.”

Sam laughed softly. “Mutual babysitting.”

Gabriel echoed his laugh, pulling out his monitor and poking at it a bit. Eventually, a small grin crossed his face. “Low seventies, woo.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Well, there’s a range of levels that are good. Below, you’re low, above, you’re high. I tend to hover around the upper seventies, lower eighties. Ideally, I’d be in the nineties, but eighties are okay.”

“What’s a normal range?”

“A good range is from 70 to 100. 120 or higher is considered high and anywhere below 70 is low. We worry more about lows since that’s, agan, where I am more of the time, but when I jump high, I get really high. Like you heard me tell Gadreel earlier, I hit 400 yesterday, which is extremely high, especially for me. If you’re high for too long, really bad things can start to happen.”

“Like what?”

“Well, one is where your body needs energy and starts breaking down fat stores. This process forms something called ketones, which are toxic and if left untreated for too long, can be really dangerous. Another thing that can happen is, if you get in the 600s range, the sugar in your blood makes it get real thick and syrupy and long story short, causes serious dehydration and can cause a coma. This is called diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome and it is really dangerous.”

“That sounds like it sucks.”

“It really does, which is why I’m glad I don’t go high much. Granted, lows aren’t much fun either.”

“How so?”

“Well, being low, I get all shaky and clumsy, then I get irritable and sometimes nauseous. What’s really annoying is that I get drowsy, but I can’t go to sleep. If I go too low, it’s like this fog settles over my brain and I can’t think. That’s when it gets dangerous, because I’ll know there’s something important I need to do, usually test and work to bring my sugar up, but I won’t be able to remember what it is. Also, since I’ll be tired, I’ll likely fall asleep because I don’t realize I’m low.”

“What number causes that?”

“Mid-thirties, sometimes higher. I hit 39 last night, I think, and was pretty out of it.”

Gabriel popped another Oreo in his mouth and checked the time.

“When do you think Dean will text you?”

“Sam shrugged. “I’m not sure. It depends on Dad.”

“Alright. Well, did you get all your homework done?”

“Yeah, right after we got home. I was sent upstairs and did it then.”

“Okay, good.”

The two lapsed into slight conversation as they waited. Gabriel set his Oreos aside when he hit 83 about a half-hour later and celebrated slightly when he reached 106. It didn’t last long, however, and by midnight he was eating the Oreos again as his sugar levels kept dropping.

“Just don’t let me fall asleep,” He told Sam after being asked what he should do. “Believe me, I’m going to want to if I keep dropping at this rate.” He paused for a second, dropping his face in his hands. “I’m never this unsteady, what’s going on?” This was muttered softly, obviously just a question he posed to himself.

Around 1:45, he reached 64 and asked Sam to grab a cup and the bottle of orange juice from the fridge. He did so and watched as Gabriel took a sip and wrinkled his nose.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, I just hate orange juice now. Something to do with constantly drinking the stuff all throughout freshman year of high school.”

“Why’s that?”

“I played football all through high school but in freshman year I hadn’t quite figured out how to manage being diabetic so I would run almost dangerously low cause I kept pushing myself. I had to chug this stuff to dry to bring my levels up ‘cause Mom didn’t want me drinking a bunch of soda or something. Coach almost kicked me off the team with the threat that if I didn’t learn how to take care of myself better, I’d be benched the rest of the season.”

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.

“Can you grab that? I don’t know if I can stand up.”

Sam quietly did so, seeing Dean leaning against the doorframe. His hand was pushed against his forehead, dried blood encrusting his skin

“Hey Sammy,” He grinned. “Got a second?”

“You’re loopy,” Sam scoffed. Get your butt to the bathroom, I’ll take care of you there.”

“What’s goin’ on?” Gabriel called.

“Dean’s here,” Sam replied. “I gotta get him cleaned up. Do you think you’re okay here or?”

“I’ll make my way over.”

Sam grabbed his backpack and knelt in front of Dean, easing his hand away from his head. He winced and wet a washrag, wiping the blood away to reveal the wound.

It wasn’t pretty, that was for sure. There was some glass embedded in his skin that Sam would have to remove, and he could tell it likely needed stitches. It had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but seemed like it was starting up again.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Castiel asked as Sam was still cleaning the wound up. He’d snuck down the stairs silently, per usual, but was startled by the Winchester’s presence.

“Dean-o’s hurt,” Gabriel answered from his spot on the floor. True to his word, he had made it over, albeit dizzily with many pauses to regain his bearings.

“Please don’t call me that,” Dean muttered, wincing as Sam began plucking out the glass. His younger brother whispered apologies, to which he assured weren’t needed.

“Um, well, I just need my meds and I’m kinda running late, so…”

“I’ll grab them in just a sec,” Sam told him. “What am I looking for?”

“Orange pill bottle with liquid inside.”

“Alright, just a sec.”

“Gabe, how’s your sugar?”

“Low again, as you can see,” Gabriel said this while holding up his cup of orange juice. “Last I checked, I was around 59.”

“Gabe-”

“I know, I know, I’ve been eating Oreos all night. Second cup of juice, too. I know how to take care of myself.” Sam passed Castiel the medicine and continued on Dean. “Now get back to bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely. I gave Sam a runthrough of what to go off of. I’m sure he’ll keep me from another coma.”

Castiel’s gaze darkened considerably. “Don’t joke about that.”

“Sorry. Now go to bed.”

Castiel knocked back the medicine and tossed the bottle in the sink around Sam then trooped back upstairs.

“So what happened to you?” Gabriel asked Dean, who sighed.

“Dad. Got drunk and kept drinking.”

“If I was high, or at least not so low, I’d be torn whether or not to go yell at him or beat him up.”

Dean viewed Gabriel with a critical eye.

“No offense, but I don't think you could beat anyone up.”

“What’re you talking about? I played football for years, I know how to take a dude down.”

“I’m gonna have to stitch you up, Dean,” Sam murmured.

“Well, get it over with,” Dean answered. “Go nuts, kid.”

As Sam began the stitches, Gabriel tested his sugar again, this time coming in at 62, which was an improvement. Not big, but some. By the time Sam had finished, Gabriel managed to get up to 71 and was sipping on a Coke in hopes of getting better numbers.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get to sleep after this,” Dean sighed, running his fingers over the stitches. Sam batted his hand away.

“If you wanna hang out here, that’d be great,” Gabriel invited. “I’ll probably dip again and need supervision.”

“We may do that,” 

Outside, they heard a car door close. Moments later, the front door opened and a man in his forties walked in.

“Gabe, are you- Who’s this?”

“Hey Dad,” Gabriel waved. “I’ve been bouncing low all day. These are Sam and Dean Winchester-”

“Are you John’s boys?”

“Uh- what?”

“John Winchester, he just moved in town. I met him a few times in the bar, he talks about his boys a lot.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about?” Dean spoke questioningly. Who was this man?”

“Oh- sorry about that! I’m Chuck Shurley, Gabe’s father. I bartend and A guy named John Winchester’s come around a few times. He’s pretty uptight, but after a few drinks, he loosens up some. He likes to talk about his sons. His tolerance is amazing, though.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Dad,” Dean grinned tightly.

“So, not to be rude, but what are you two doing here at… 2:27 in the morning?”

“We needed out of the house,” Sam explained shortly. “Then Gabriel asked us to stay since he was low.”

“How low?” Chuck asked, concern filtering over his face.

“Lowest tonight was around 54 I think. I got up to 106 but went down again.”

“Gabe-”

“Yeah, yeah, go to sleep old man, you look exhausted.”

“You need to take care of yourself, Gabriel.”

“I know, why else would I be sitting in the living room with our neighbors at 2 AM?”

Chuck nodded with a slight laugh.

“Well, it was nice to meet you two, but I’m exhausted and my next shift is in a few hours, so I’m going to get as much sleep as I can before then.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Shurley,” Sam called after him.

“Please. Call me Chuck.”


	10. Gabriel

Gabe leaned back in his seat on the couch, cursing softly to himself as his monitor flashed 58 at him. He groaned and bit into another Oreo, feeling as though he might burst. He’d eaten almost the entire pack in one day, fighting blood sugar that refused to stay up long enough for him to sleep.

He glanced at Sam and Dean, who were sleeping in the living room. Gabe had practically forced them to stay over, reasoning that 2 AM was way too early to be sneaking back into their own house. They’d both fallen asleep before 3 and Gabe smiled softly as he looked at them.

When awake, both boys had a cautious, burdened look to them, like they were afraid of saying the wrong thing but had the world on their shoulders. Dean, more so than Sam. But asleep, they looked relaxed, vulnerable almost, especially Sam. With fringe brushing just above his eyes, he looked almost like a child as he curled up on the couch. Dean, less so. He looked less like a cornered animal as he slept, still nervy but most of the worry that lined his face had disappeared. 

Gabe got up and wove around Dean’s sleeping body- the teen had splayed himself across the floor. He made his way to the kitchen, pouring a glass of orange juice and chugging it, gagging at the taste. He knew he should have sipped it, but he didn’t care. If he’d done that, he probably would have thrown it up. 

After tossing his cup in the sink- he’d wash it later- he went down the stairs to his room. It wasn’t a true bedroom, not like the ones Sam and Dean had. The basement, instead of the two rooms in the Winchester house, was split into three. Long before Gabe’s mother died, Chuck had put up a wall in one of the basement rooms. The four oldest slept down there- Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Lucifer. Mike and Lucifer had shared a room while Raph and Gabe got their own. Gabe’s was the biggest, the unmutilated room, but he shared with the washer and dryer and Sophia’s crib and a bathroom Chuck had put in around Gabe’s diagnosis, way before money was ever an issue.

Gabriel settled himself on his bed quietly to avoid waking his baby cousin, grabbing his laptop and opening it to work on a paper he had due. If needed, he knew there was a stash of Jolly Ranchers in his nightstand, and there was a glucose shot in case of emergency. He’d do that later, though. He was alright for now. 

After re-reading the prompt and what he had already written, he got to work, his fingers flying over the keyboard. He’d always been good at writing, just like his father. Unlike him, though, he didn’t plan on becoming an author. He’d never felt the urge to sit at the abandoned, messy desk that Chuck had always referred to as his “inspiration spot”. Not for years. Not when it held memories of a time when everything was simple, before diagnoses, before death, sadness, and struggle. Before Gabe had gotten too big and Chuck sat him on his knee, laughing as the little gold-haired boy reached to mimic his father, typing away on the old keyboard that always clacked just a little too loud, Lucifer hanging over their shoulders and watching contentedly, miraculously fixing the computer when it inexplicably shut down, once again. Back when Michael was just “Mikey” and Chuck was “Papa”. Back when Gabe could sit cross-legged on the floor with a baby Cas, watching enraptured as their mother crocheted another afghan for another newly-wed couple, Chuck’s guitar strumming softly as he hummed that song he’d always liked, about wings and doves and “Fare thee well”.

Without even realizing it, Gabe had gone well over the minimum word goal. After sluggishly pulling himself from his thoughts, he read over the paper, editing harshly in some places and completely scrapping in others. Eventually, he finally approved it and submitted it, knowing he needed to move on to his next task. He realized with a groan that he’d left his monitor upstairs and had to go all the way back up to fetch it. He knew he was lower than earlier. He could feel it in the way his head swam with nearly any movement, how there felt like a fog settling over his brain, impeding his thoughts. He had- he had sugar in the drawer of his nightstand, he just needed to open it. Maybe he should call Raphael.

After fumbling to open the drawer, he stared into it blankly. What was he doing? Glancing up, he saw his laptop and a few papers next to him. Maybe he was grabbing a pen, to write something down. Yes, that was it. He was sure of it. A pen.

He sat back, then stared at the pen in his hand. Why did he need this? He felt like he was forgetting something important, it was nagging away at him, but he could hardly think. Why did he have a pen? Was he doing schoolwork? Everything was so foggy. Why did he have his laptop on his lap? Was it his? Did he take Raphael’s again? Didn’t he need to say something to Raph?

He yawned and ran a hand over his face. He was so tired. Maybe he should take a nap. Everything was so much clearer after he slept.

But why did he feel like something was missing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for such a short chapter! I wanted to add more, but I really couldn't tell what to add. I feel like I should have put more before the memories-spiel.


	11. Sam

The Winchester boys were woken by pounding feet and baby’s cries. Sam sat up to see Raphael grabbing Gabriel’s testing kit before running back to the stairs and bellowing for Uriel and Gadreel then charging down to the basement. Uriel emerged moments later, still only dressed in shorts. 

“What’s going on?” He asked. “Did Raph call us?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sam told him. Dean was sitting up groggily on the floor. “He ran downstairs. He had Gabriel’s testing stuff.”

Uriel frowned and hurried down the stairs. Sam eventually decided to follow, trusting that Dean had heard enough to send Gadreel in the right direction if he ever made an appearance. He reached the bottom of the stairs and followed the noise to a room, the only one with lights on, to find Raphael crouching in front of a sleeping Gabriel, whose laptop was perched on his lap. Raphael was staring at the small device that Sam recognized as the monitor that told him the readings from finger pricks.

“What’s going on?” He asked. Uriel and Raphael both looked up to see him. Raphael returned his gaze to the monitor when it beeped. He swore loudly as he shoved it into his pocket.

“What was it?” Uriel asked, his dark eyes wide with concern.

“Seventeen.” Raphael’s reply was short as he lifted his younger brother in his arms. “I have no clue how long. I’m taking him to the hospital. Get a shirt, make sure Gadreel and Cas know to get the kids up and to school somehow, then come with me. We’re leaving as soon as I get the car started, so you better not waste time. Sam, out of the way.”

Confused, Sam flattened himself against the wall as Raphael flew up the stairs, Uriel on his heels. Neither of them had paid any attention to the wailing Sophia, so Sam picked her up from her crib, shushing her as her sobs slowly quieted. He returned to the living room with the baby in his arms to find Dean, Gadreel, and Castiel standing around a cell phone on speaker mode.

“... Woke up when Sophia was crying. Usually, Gabe stops her but he wasn’t for some reason, so I went into his room to see why, thinking maybe he wasn’t there,” Raphael was saying. Sam glanced out the window to see that his car was gone. “He was on his bed, passed out. He wouldn’t wake up and his sugar was 17. We’re on our way to the hospital. I want you to get the kids to school. I don’t know how, walk if you have to. Maybe see if the Winchesters-”

“Where are the keys to the van, I’ll get them all where they need to go.” Dean interrupted. 

“Should be on one of the hooks next to the door. That’s where Gabe keeps them- What are you doing? Sit down.”

“Gabe had Glucagon in the glovebox,” Uriel’s voice was faint. “I remember he told me.”

“What’s going on?” Rachel had shown up at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in fluffy pajamas. “Why are Sam ‘n Dean here?”

“I’m hanging up, take care of the kids.”

“Make sure you text us updates!” Castiel cut in just before the line went dead. He shifted, then saw Sophia in Sam’s arms. He took her and rocked her a bit then passed her to Gadreel.

“What’s happening?” This was Balthazar, fully dressed. “What’s going on?”

“Gabe’s sick,” Castiel answered. “Raph’s taking him to the doctor. Rache, get dressed and tell everyone else to hurry up. We’re going to be getting to school a bit early, but that’s fine. Just get ready quickly.”

“Okay.” Rachel climbed the stairs and Castiel then turned to Sam and Dean. 

“You’re serious about driving us?” He asked. Dean nodded and Castiel glanced at Gadreel. “Alright, thank you. You two, go head and get clean clothes that you haven’t slept in, if you can. And your school things. We’re gonna try to leave in around twenty minutes so if you were planning on getting a shower, make it fast.”

Sam, as he followed Dean across the yard and got dressed, marveled at Castiel’s sudden change in demeanor. He was suddenly a leader, perfectly in charge, somehow keeping a level head. Sam, despite not knowing Gabriel that well, was freaking out, just a bit. He hardly understood what was going on. He gathered that Gabriel was really low and he remembered that if he slept while really low, he could stay asleep. And possibly never wake up.

What if Gabriel died from this?

Sam stopped cold, his shirt half on, as the thought occurred to him. Dean came in a few seconds later, completely ready, and frowned at his brother.

“What are you doing?” He demanded. “Get dressed, we need to go.”

“What if Gabriel dies from this?” Sam asked, voicing his fear. Dean paused, his green eyes widening, then shook his head. 

“We can’t worry about that, Sam. He’s not our brother, it’s not our place. Definitely don’t say that around the others. We just need to get them all to school and mind our business, not getting in their way.”

“But-”

“No buts. Get dressed. Now.”

Sam complied, his mind swirling. The van was silent on the drive over, Castiel and Gadreel having briefed the rest of the family what was going on. Dean dropped off the high schoolers first, ordering Sam to get out with them so he wasn’t late like Dean would be after dropping the three girls off where they needed to go.

The six of them trooped over the school yard, Gadreel on the phone, talking to someone urgently. He hung up and called a new number. Sam could only assume he was talking to Michael and Chuck. When the group split to go to their respective friend groups, Sam followed Castiel. It was habit at this point.

“Hey, Sam, Cas!” Charlie called. Her face dropped when Castiel hardly replied, merely plopping in his seat. “What’s wrong?”

“Gabe’s… He dropped real low overnight. Raph caught him and he’s on his way to the hospital right now. Last I knew, he was at 17.”

“Oh my God,” Riley whispered. “Will he be okay?”

Castiel looked up at his friends, looking exhausted despite his hardly being awake for forty minutes. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

~

Castiel spent the entirety of English checking his phone obsessively. Sam couldn’t blame him, it was his brother in the hospital. He knew that if it was Dean, he wouldn’t tear his gaze away either.

“Any update?” He asked at one point, his voice a whisper so Mr. Benedict didn’t catch them talking. Castiel shook his head.

“Not really. They tested him when they got there. 18, so that Glucagon Uriel was looking for helped a little bit. That’s about it so far.”

“That really sucks. I’m sorry, Castiel.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Castiel replied, somewhat coldly. “You couldn’t have done anything.”

The class ended and the two split off, going their separate ways. Nathaniel was the same way, checking his phone constantly in the classes he and Sam shared. This time, Sam didn’t ask for an update. Nathanie looked close to tears already. It was obvious that he was terrified.

The day dragged on, seemingly taking years for the bell to ring and release the stressed teens. When it finally did so, Sam sprinted to the Shurley/Milton tree, for once there before the majority of the siblings and cousins. He wasn’t surprised to see Castiel already there, though he was surprised to see him talking on his phone, pacing instead of sleeping. His hair was somehow messier than usual and it became evident of why as Castiel ran his finger through it with one hand, the other pinning his phone to his ear.

“Was that Raph?” Gadreel asked after Castiel hung up. By this time, the majority of them were there. Ambriel and Nathaniel too. Sam heard them discussing how they’d talked to their coaches to be excused from practice.

“No, Uriel with an update. Gabe’s still not awake but they have him on IVs and he’s back up to mid-eighties. Apparently, the reason he’s been so low this week was a defective pod, of all things.”

“Seriously?” Ambriel asked. “A defective pod?”

“Yeah. Apparently, it wasn’t listening to the PDM and was releasing way too much insulin constantly. Like, more than the programmed amount. They took out his pod entirely and they're keeping him on the glucose IV until he levels out long enough to stay off it and probably longer than that. That's what Uriel told me."

At that moment, the van pulled around in front of them, Dean in the front seat, talking on the phone. 

"No- Dad, I'm not gonna be home for another hour and a half at least. I've gotta pick up the neighbor kids and- Yes, I  _ know _ I have homework. I'll get it done." As the group piled in, he paused. "Yeah. Yeah. I have to run by the hospital- Cause their brother's been admitted, jeez. I was told that after I pick them all up, it would be helpful if I took them to the hospital so they can maybe see him. He's  _ diabetic _ , Dad, and he had an issue last night. It's not like I have any of the details, he's not  _ my _ family-" He started driving and was cut off. Sam watched curiously as he suddenly sat up stiffly. "Yes sir. Yes sir. I'm just helping them out since none of them have a driver's licence. Right, I'm gonna let you go, gotta get on the highway and I'd prefer to have both hands free. Yes sir. Talk to you later. Bye." He hung up with a sigh, dropping his phone into the cup holder and returning both hands to the steering wheel. 

"Was that Dad?"

"Yeah," Dean sighed out his answer. "He's being difficult."

"Does he remember…?"

Dean scoffed. "No, of course not. He hasn't seen either of us all day- add that to the list of things to yell at me for.

"So you're going to drop us at the hospital?"

"Yeah- Wait, you're supposed to be asleep," Dean startled slightly as he answered Castiel's question. 

"Can't. Too hopped up on nerves."

Green eyes met blue and Dean knew Castiel wouldn’t relent. "Okay then. Well, just before I got out to the van, Raphael called. He asked me to pick you guys up then take you all to the hospital.”

“Please just  _ try _ to take a nap,” Gadreel urged Castiel. “I don’t want you to crash when we get there. You’ve got an hour.”

Castiel muttered uncooperatively, checking his phone. Dean turned up the radio, wrinkling his nose at the station Gabriel liked. After a few minutes, Gadreel, who was in the front seat, reached forward and changed it from country to some pop station, which was hardly better in Dean’s opinion. Sam noticed, however, that both Balthazar and Castiel glanced up at the sudden change and exchanged a look. Apparently, this change was important. 

There wasn’t much talking as the group drove down the highway. Nobody really had anything to say- the Shurleys and Miltons were too worried thinking about Gabriel and the Winchesters were just trying to help out the best they could. Not to say that Sam and Dean weren’t worried, they just didn’t know him as well. They liked him, though. He was nice.

When they got to the elementary school, Castiel ended up being the one to check Rachel out. There was slight hassle getting it done, ending in a phone call to Raphael that brought up an explanation of the hectic morning, but they eventually got back on the road. Dean made a wrong turn on the way to the babysitter’s but nothing major. The oldest two got the toddlers and thanked the babysitter, a college-age girl, before coming back to the car, buckling the kids in, and leaving.

About an hour and a half after the day at the high school ended, Dean pulled up to the hospital parking lot. Castiel still hadn’t taken a nap and it was obvious the toll it was taking on him- he was in serious danger of nodding off as they drove, despite his determination to do otherwise.

“Do you guys want us to come in with your, or do you have it from here?” Dean asked. Gadreel shook his head.

“You guys can go home. It sounded like your dad was pretty annoyed with you for not being home right away. We don’t want you to get in trouble because of us. Thank you, though,” He added as they began exiting the van, Ambriel nudging Castiel to wake up and get out. “For getting us here.”

“It’s no problem,” Dean replied. “Somebody text me or Sam an update, please, and whenever you need to go home. I can’t leave the van here cause I don’t have another car, so I’’l take it back to your house and pick you guys up when you want me to, okay?”

“That works. Thanks again.”

“See you.”

With that, Dean drove away, leaving the group of eight in the rearview mirror. Gadreel was holding Sophia’s hand and Ambriel had Anna’s as they walked into the hospital. Nathaniel was carrying Castiel’s backpack and watching his brother carefully to make sure he didn’t suddenly pass out.

“Do you think Gabriel will be okay?” Sam asked. Dean sighed.

“I really don’t know. I did some research before I signed in this morning and it really just depends on how long he was that low. If his level was under 20 for too long, there’s a chance he won’t make it. There’s just so much we don’t know, though, like how long he was unconscious, how long he’d been so low. Uriel gave him Glucagon, an emergency medicine that hopefully pulled his level up enough. Raphael said he was around 86 when I talked to him, which isn’t great considering how low he was and has been, but it’s a definite improvement.”

Sam nodded in acknowledgement and stared out the window. “So Dad’s upset? That we weren’t at home?”

“Yeah, but I have a feeling that when we get home, he’ll be sorry, considering you had to stitch up my forehead.”

Sam let out a forced, wry laugh. “Yeah, for how long? Right up until he goes back to the bottle, yet again. He’ll probably swear off drinking again and it’ll last, what, a week? Maybe? How long was it last time?”

“Don’t speak like that,” Dean ordered softly. “You know he’s trying his best. He’s on the road constantly and he’s tired-”

“We both know those are just shitty excuses. Nothing is a good enough reason to drink so heavily you injure your sons, the things you made and are supposed to protect."

“Sam, stop. I’m not having this argument with you. Just, please be civil with him when we get home.”

“I’m just saying, he better be sorry,” Sam muttered. “I had to pull a needle through your skin at 2 AM for the eighth time this year and it’s not even October!”

“Sam.”

“Fine, fine. Sorry. I’ll just go to my room and avoid him. Civil enough?”

“So long as he doesn’t try to talk to you, I guess so. Don’t just brush him off if he does though-”

“And why not?” He demanded, sitting upright in his seat. “I had to flee our house and we ended up sleeping at the neighbor’s! Who, the next morning, had a medical emergency! Don’t you think there’s some type of correlation there, that the time we interrupt their nightly routine, they have a problem that could end up killing Gabriel?”

“Sam, you don’t- You don’t think that  _ we  _ caused this, do you?”

“I mean, why not? We barged into their house, interrupted the way they do things, and then slept on their couch instead of just going home like we should have! Gabriel saw that I didn’t want to talk about it and sent Uriel away so it would just be us two. We were talking and agreed on mutual babysitting, then I fell asleep and the next morning, he could be dying! He could be dying and we’d agreed that I was supposed to watch him and ensure that he was okay!” This-”

“Sam!” Dean shouted over his rambling brother. The fourteen year old had pulled his knees to his chest, eyes wide as he ranted. It took him a few seconds to realize that they were no longer driving- Dean had stopped the car in a gas station parking lot. “Shut up, would you? Quit working yourself up so badly.”

“But-”

“No buts. You seriously blame yourself? He’s been having issues with his blood sugar for like, the past week. Nobody is to blame here. You heard Cas, it was a defective pod that released too much insulin, which caused his blood sugar to go low and stay low. You can’t control a pod. His Oreos were almost totally empty, you saw that this morning. If multiple packs of Oreos, plus however much orange juice and all the other sugar he’s eaten won’t get him in range, you can’t do anything about it either. You are not to blame for this, you hear? Nobody is.”

Numbly, Sam nodded with a sigh. “I guess so.”

“Hey, perk up,” Dean nudged his brother. “I’ll talk to Dad, see if we can’t go visit Bobby for the weekend. That okay?”

“Sure. Yeah, that sounds good.” Both brothers noticeably perked up at the mention of Bobby Singer, the man that was basically their adoptive father. They hadn’t seen him since before they moved to Lebanon but when they were little, John would occasionally drop them off to stay with him, sometimes for weeks at a time. Bobby had raised the boys just as much, if not more, than John did.

The rest of the drive was spent quiet. Dean eventually turned the radio to a rock station, switching it back to Gabriel’s country when they parked in the driveway. Apprehensively, they entered the house, peeking carefully into the living room to see John sitting in his chair on his laptop. Their father glanced up when he heard the front door close, his eyes immediately flickering to the sutures on Dean’s forehead, his lips parting in surprise. Regret flashed through his eyes and he glanced back down at the laptop before closing it and setting it on the coffee table. Dean led Sam into the living room and the two boys sat on the couch. An awkward silence filled the space between them, neither boy meeting their father’s gaze.

Eventually, John tried to break it. “Den, Sam, I… I apologize for my behavior last night. It-”

“Save it,” Sam growled, cutting him off. “You bashed Dean’s head with a beer bottle. There is no way you can apologize for that.”

“Sam,” Dean warned, putting a hand on Sam’s knee. Sam of the two stood abruptly and angrily, shaking his brother off.

“No, Dean, I’m not going to restrain myself to ‘keep from upsetting him’. I’m gonna speak my mind like I damn well should. He cut you up so bad that I had to stitch you up in the neighbor’s bathroom. Oh, and  _ Dad _ , guess what happened to said neighbor? He’s in the  _ hospital _ now, thanks to dangerously low blood sugar, cause he’s diabetic. Which you would know if you were ever around. Just in case you were wondering where we were, as if you actually cared.” 

John and Dean stared at the youngest Winchester in shock. This outburst was extremely unlike his typical quiet, studious nature. His hazel eyes were blazing and his mouth was twisted in a furious sneer. 

“Don’t try to talk to me, I won’t answer, _ John _ .” This remark was thrown over his shoulder as he stormed up to his room, his backpack in hand. He could hear John yelling up the stairs after him, but didn't care. The man could _suck it_. He threw it on the floor of his room and flopped on his bed, groaning in frustration when he remembered that he left his emergency bag in the Shurley house. He would have to go get it at some point, in case they had to run again. 

Or in case he  _ chose _ to run. Away from John.

He rolled on his side, considering the idea. He huffed out a soft sigh as he considered the pros and cons, a system he automatically did when trying to make decisions. The cons greatly outweighed any pros, especially now with Gabriel in the hospital.

But, someday, could he pull it off? Get away from John and his, quite frankly, abusive behavior? 


	12. Castiel

Castiel slumped against Gabriel’s hospital bed. He was, for once, alone with his brother, something that rarely happened in his crowded home. Raphael had taken everyone younger than Ambriel home and hadn't returned yet, probably getting them put to bed. Uriel and Gadreel had left the room in search of something to eat and Ambriel had vanished soon after in her own search for caffeine. 

"Please be okay," Cas whispered as he grabbed his brother's hand. There was, of course, no response from the unconscious young man. "We need you." 

Monitors beeped and hummed, filling the silence between the two. Cas sighed and rested his chin gently against the back of Gabriel's hand, careful not to disturb any of the numerous tubes reaching out of his body. Cas followed the maze of clear tubes with his eyes, tracking which ones connected to which machine. One connected to intravenous glucose to raise his blood sugar, one connected to IV saline for hydration, and one was a feeding tube, ensuring that Gabriel got the nutrition he needed. His heart rate and oxygen level were being monitored by a glowing strip on his finger and he had an oxygen tube under his nose. 

Castiel hated it. He hated the sight of Gabriel attached to so many tubes and monitors with the soles function of keeping him alive and in good condition. He looked so small, dressed in a hospital gown, surrounded by sterile white. The only color in the room, besides Castiel's bright blue t-shirt, was a small vase of flowers, something small and purple someone had brought in a few days ago. Cas didn't care enough to actually identify the slightly wilty blooms. 

" _Are they trying to make it obvious they pity me_ ?" Gabriel would ask. " _Those flowers are pathetic. If you're going to do flowers, get something big and colorful._ " Gabe did always like extravagant flowers. Huge ones, like his bush of king proteas next to the front porch. The blooms were ginormous, some nearly a foot across. Gabe and their mother had spent years caring for that bush. Naomi had adored flowers and gardening, and her love had been passed down to her fourth son, who had kept her garden in beautiful condition and even had flowers in his room, near the window in the top of the wall. There were succulents all over the house, particularly one called lithops weberi, which, when flowering, looked like the flower was growing straight out of a rock. Gabe always took delight in inviting new people over and seeing their reaction to the curious little succulents. 

Of the strange flowers Gabe had, Castiel decided that the naked man orchids were the strangest. They did, actually, look like naked little men. 

Of all of Gabriel’s flowers, Cas’ favorites were the moonflowers. They unfurled at night and, due to their pure white color, seemed to glow in the moonlight. Gabe’s favorite wasn’t his naked men, hooker lips, or his monkey face orchids. Instead, they were yellow cosmos, which Cas didn’t understand. The flowers were small, delicate, and everything else that Gabe didn’t care for in the garden he cared for. For some reason, he insisted that they were his favorite and had blooms of white and yellow both potted and growing in the beds, near the snapdragons. According to Gabe, the snapdragons looked like actual dragon heads, but Cas didn’t see it. What he did see, however, was how similar to skulls the seed pods looked. They creeped him out, but Gabe liked them so he didn’t complain.

Castiel was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He looked up in time to see a nurse open the door with a slight, comforting smile. 

“Hi, Castiel,” He greeted softly. The black-haired teen’s face had become familiar in the past few days. “How’s Gabriel doing?”

Cas glanced at his brother. “He hasn’t woken up.”

“Yes, well, it’ll take him a few days most likely. We’ve got him back in a good blood sugar range and he’s been fairly steady. We just have to wait for him to realize he’s good again and he’ll be up. He’s been doing quite well, so I don’t think it should take too much longer.”

“Well… Gabe did always like to sleep in on weekends.”

As laughter sounded, Castiel stood up to give the nurse space to work and check Gabe’s vital signs. He’d been told previously that he didn’t have to do so, there was plenty of room to move around, but Cas didn’t like even a hint of the feeling that he was somehow impeding a nurse or doctor’s work. Especially when it came to Gabriel.

As he moved around, modifying or typing things into the computer he unlocked with a swipe of his badge, Ephraim explained what he was doing. Whenever he came in to check on things, he walked the room’s occupants through his actions. Cas liked him, he was really nice. Granted, most of the nurses were, but Ephraim in particular. He seemed to know exactly what to say to get a panicking family member to calm down and Cas actually found it comforting to know exactly what they were doing with Gabe.

Eventually, Ephraim left, leaving Cas and Gabe alone again. His eyes strayed to the purple flowers, which he now tentatively identified as marigolds. Of all flowers, Gabe _hated_ marigolds. The arrangement must have come from some anonymous sender that didn't know him. Cas didn’t particularly care who as he waited for some family member to return. It ended up being Ambriel, who took his seat after he left. He returned about a half hour later with a fistful of flowers to find that the other three had returned, Raphael at Gabriel’s side, smoothing his younger brother’s hair from his face. Uriel and Gadreel were standing at the wall, ignoring the empty chairs near them. Cas didn’t say anything and had so far gone unnoticed thanks to his ability to sneak up near silently on people. Wordlessly, he crossed the room and replaced the marigolds with his own flowers- gladiolus. They symbolized strength, which Cas thought Gabe would need, given his current circumstances. They were also better colors- bright orange, red, and yellow that made the whole room seem brighter. After discarding the purple flowers, Cas reclaimed his spot at Gabe’s other side. Raph glanced up at this, finally noticing his brother. His eyes flicked to the new flowers.

“What was wrong with the other ones?”

“They were marigolds,” Cas replied. “Gabe-”

“Hates marigolds,” Raph finished, looking down with a fond smile. “So extreme about not having marigolds. Never wanted to ‘disgrace Mom’s garden with those vile things’.”

“Did you ever find out why he hates them so much?”

“Never. I have no clue why he hates them. They’re nice little flowers."

Cas hummed in response, returning his focus to his still brother. He wasn't sure how much time has passed when a knock came at the door. 

The door opened slowly, as if whoever was on the other side was afraid of being too loud. Eventually, a head poked in but it wasn't who they were expecting at all. 

Michael walked in quietly, still dressed in his work uniform. He looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, his hair messy as though he’d been running his hands through it, and a coffee cup in one hand. His face fell when he saw Gabriel in the bed. With his face slightly pale from fatigue, he looked astonishingly like Cas. The two brothers had always looked extraordinarily similar- It was a shame they didn’t get along as well as they had, when they were little.

"How's he doing?" He asked, doing his best to be quiet. Out of the corner of his eye, Cas saw Uriel say something to Ambriel and Gadreel, then the three left the room. He stood up to follow them, but Michael held up a hand to stop him. 

"You don't have to get up."

Hesitantly, he sunk back down into his chair, ignoring the wave of dizziness that came from standing so fast. 

"Doctors say his vital signs and stuff are good," Raphael began to answer Michael's question. "He's still wobbly with his sugar numbers, trying to go low, but they aren't letting him drop."

"Any idea when he might wake up?"

Raph mutely shook his head. Mike nodded to himself and pulled an empty chair to the end of the bed. 

Out of nowhere, Cas had a marker- a fine-tip Sharpie. As Mike and Raph spoke softly, mostly about the circumstances of how this had happened- Mike had been swamped with work, getting maybe three hours of rest between shifts- Cas took one of Gabe’s hands and drew. He hadn’t drawn anything in ages, never having the inspiration to draw something, but now he just let his pen flow freely, the ink spreading on Gabe’s skin.

Eventually, he sat back. Glancing up, he saw that Gadreel was back in the room but Michael and Raphael weren’t. He’d been so caught up in his drawings that he’d not noticed them leaving. 

“Looks good,” Gad murmured, coming up Cas and looking at the drawings that roped their way up Gabe’s arm, coming to a stop just below his elbow.

It was cluttered but simplistic, a compilation of tiny doodles of bees, stars, smiley faces, angel wings thrown in here and there; all pulled together by a flowering vine. Cas smiled a little as he looked at the artwork.

“Thanks,” Cas finally answered. “Where’re Mike and Raph?”

“Raph took Mike to get something to eat in the cafeteria. When they finish, Raph’s taking us home to get some sleep.”

Cas shook his head. “I’m not going.”

“What?”

“I’m not going home. I’m gonna stay with Gabe.”

“Cas… No, you need to get home, get some sleep, take your meds-”

“What if Gabe wakes up and nobody’s here? He'll be scared. He needs someone, Gad.”

Gadreel huffed out a sigh and looked away. “Alright, well, you’ll have to take that up with Raph and Mike. I’m not gonna try to argue with you.”

As it turned out, Raphael did allow Castiel to stay by Gabriel’s side. 

“ _Only_ because there’s no school tomorrow,” He reasoned. “But I can’t stay. I have work and I need to sleep. Make sure you get some too, understand?”

“I’m narcoleptic, Raph, that won’t be difficult.”

“You’ve not slept all day, Cas. You had ten minutes around lunchtime, but that’s it.”

Cas sighed and looked away. “I’ll try to sleep.”

“Good.” Raphael leaned forward and ruffled Cas’ already messy hair. After a few beat’s hesitation, he bent down and hugged his little brother. He wasn’t the touchy-feely type, that was Gabe’s thing. He was the one the kids went to when needing hugs or physical contact. “I think Dad’s gonna try to come over tomorrow, but if he doesn’t and you need to go home, you call one of us, okay? We’ll get you as soon as possible.”

“Okay. You go home, make sure the kids get in bed alright. Okay?”

Raph nodded and after Cas waved farewell to Gadreel, Michael having already left the room, the two left. Cas turned back to Gabriel, who was still lying supine on the hospital bed, not that there was any change expected. 

“Please be okay Gabbie,” Castiel sighed with the use of his childhood nickname for his brother, taking his hand once again. The two had always been close, closer than Cas and Michael had ever been. “Please be okay.”

~

Raphael made his way to Gabriel's hospital room immediately after getting off his shift at work. He hadn't gotten a call from Castiel to pick him up, so either he'd gotten a ride from Michael or Chuck or, and this was the more likely option, he was sitting in the room in rumpled, day-old clothes. He was likely asleep, considering his awful habit of pushing himself until he passed out when one of his siblings was sick or when he was stressed. It was one of many traits Cas and Gabe shared. 

Sure enough, when Raph walked in, Cas was slumped over the bed, fast asleep, clinging to Gabe’s hand. However, the peace created by sleep was disturbed when Cas started muttering in his sleep, his face twitching and his hands stiffening. His mumbling quickly grew louder but remained unintelligible as his shifting grew more pronounced. It only took a few moments for Raphael to realize he was having a nightmare and he started shaking him to try to wake him up. Soon, his cries and shifting stopped, but he didn’t open his eyes and his breathing, already shortened by the nightmare, grew shallower. Raph froze, unsure of what to do, and a few moments later, Cas flew upright, blue eyes wide and filled with terror. 

"Cas?"

He turned to Raphael, shaking, eyes brimming with tears. Raph stepped forward and cautiously put his hand on his shoulder, which was all it took for the teen to collapse against his brother, pulling his shirt in his fists. Raphael wrapped his arms around him, hooking a chair with his foot and pulling it so he could sit on it. Being almost six inches taller, Raph was able to tuck Cas’ head under his chin and wrap him in a tight hug, resting one hand on his hair and the other on his back.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” He whispered in an attempt to comfort him. “Dammit, Gabe’s so much better at this.” Despite this, he held his brother close, providing the panicking teen the comfort he needed as he sobbed, breaking down. Raph pressed a kiss to his hair, resting his cheek in the same place and closing his eyes, rocking back and forth as he tried to calm him. 

The room was filled with the sounds of whirring machine’s, beeping monitors, the whoosh of Gabriel’s oxygen, and the soft shushing of Raphael as he clung to a whimpering Castiel. He’d gone from a mostly independent teenager to a scared child in only a few moments, showing Raphael just how fast they’d been forced to grow up.

Cas was only sixteen and he behaved as though he was much older. Gabe was only nineteen and yet he’d taken over raising the kids almost completely on his own without hardly a complaint. Raphael knew that, and the thought terrified him, if Gabriel didn’t make it, the family would likely fall apart. Only Chuck, Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel had their driver’s licences and the older three were always so busy with work and school that they were hardly available enough to spend the multiple hours it took to get everyone to school, doctor’s appointments, sports practice, and everywhere else they needed to go, plus buy groceries, pay the bills, cook, and ensure everyone had what they needed. Yet somehow, Gabe managed this flawlessly, balancing work and school in the hours that the kids were at school or asleep and making meals at the exact same time every day. Through all of this, he had also been able to keep his own medical issues controlled, careful to make sure his blood sugar didn’t go too out of range. Of course, the one time he didn’t succeed in this, he ended up in the hospital in a coma, and it _wasn’t even his fault_.

Raphael closed his eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he thought of the burden his younger brother had selflessly taken upon himself, and how little he asked for in return. 

Eventually, Castiel pulled away, oblivious to Raphael’s thoughts as he wiped his face with a paper towel he got from the sink near the door. He then returned to his seat, leaning over and resting his head on Raphael’s shoulder.

The brothers stayed silent, hands entwined, as they stood vigil over their comatose brother. No words were needed, the comfort provided by each other’s presence enough for both of them.


	13. Sam

Castiel didn’t show up at school again for almost a whole week.

His siblings and cousins did, only a few days after Gabriel had been admitted, trickling back over the course of a few days, but not Castiel. None of them seemed to be keen on explaining why, either.

Dean parked the van after a mostly silent drive to drop everyone off at school. Since Gabriel had been admitted and Raphael spent all his time with his brother, doing schoolwork, or at work; he’d taken over getting the Shurley kids to and from school. He didn’t have a problem with it. He was helping his friends- yes, he finally considered some of the Shurleys to be _friends_ \- and sure, he was late for school, but it’s not like he cared. Besides, he was getting the work from the classes he shared with Uriel and other football players that had seemingly adopted him into their social group. Dean couldn’t be sure how much of that was due to Uriel’s influence, but he didn’t feel like arguing.

It was a Wednesday when Castiel finally returned, showing up midway through first block. He entered the room, silently handed Mr. Benedict a note from the office, and dragged his bag to his seat where he plunked himself down and rested his head on the desk. The teacher took a moment to read the note then set it on his desk to continue the class. Before the bell rang, he called Sam and Castiel to stay back.

“Sam, are you aware of the situation going on in Cas’ family?”

Sam nodded. “We’re neighbors and my brother’s been driving everyone to school.”

“That’s very kind of him. Castiel is going to need someone to help catch him back up on what he missed during his absence, can you do that?”

“If it’s okay with Castiel."

Both of them turned to look at the black-haired boy, who was slumped in a desk. After a moment, he glanced up to see them watching him.

“What was the question?” He asked, his voice hoarse as though he’d been sleeping. This was the first time Sam had gotten to really see his friend’s face and was shocked by his appearance. Previously, he’d just seemed ruffled, like he’d rolled out of bed and came to school in whatever he’d been sleeping in. However, while this was very possibly the case, that wasn’t just it. Castiel looked completely spent. He had dark circles under his eyes, deep lines underneath. He looked vaguely familiar and Sam had to rack his brain to figure out why. 

He looked like Michael, his oldest brother, in the few times Sam had seen him. Burnt out, just going through the motions of living.

“Are you okay with Sam helping you catch back up with school?” Mr. Benedict repeated his question. 

“Oh. Oh, uh- Yeah. Yeah, that’s okay. It’ll be difficult to find a time when I’m available though, I’ve been spending all my time with Gabe.”

“Doesn’t the hospital have limited visiting hours though?” Sam asked. Castiel shrugged.

“The nurses don’t seem to mind that much, so long as I don’t make much noise. I’m passed out by the time hours end, anyway, and none of them seem to want to wake me up.”

“How _is_ Gabe doing?” Mr. Benedict asked. Sam remembered that he’d once mentioned teaching Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel.

“He’s alright, I guess,” Cas murmured with another shrug. “Still hasn’t woken up, but he hasn’t had another sugar crash since the one he had earlier-”

“Wait, what sugar crash?” Sam interrupted.

“After they’d mostly stabilized him, his sugar crashed really bad the next day. They had to bring him back up really fast. It was pretty scary.”

The three talked for a few more minutes about Gabriel’s condition then Mr. Benedict released the boys to their next classes, giving them notes to excuse their lateness.

The rest of the day went by fairly normally for Sam, besides Nathaniel’s twitchiness, but he was used to that by now. The teen had hardly been to see Gabriel and relied on updates from his older siblings and cousin on his brother’s condition. The normality was broken when he saw Castiel pass him while at his locker. The junior never went through the freshman hallway at the end of school and he had always been the first out to the tree. After a second of debate, Sam stuffed his backpack into his locker, shutting the door before chasing after his friend.

“Castiel!” He called but the teen didn’t slow down. “Cas!” 

Sam eventually caught up to him and grabbed his wrist, forcing the exhausted teen to stop.

“What’s wrong, man?” He asked. He’d never seen Castiel behave this way before. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Sam. I told you that earlier.” Castiel replied. “I need to go.”

“No- Cas, wait. Aren’t you riding with us to pick up the girls?”

“No. I’m going to the hospital.”

Sam frowned. “But, Cas, haven’t you been there like, this whole week? Don’t you need to rest?”

“I’m _fine_ , Sam,” Castiel glared at his friend, wrenching his arm from his grip. It wasn’t lost on Sam that his friend was slurring, just a little. “I-” Whatever he was about to say was interrupted when his knees gave out and he suddenly fell. He would hit the floor face- first if Sam hadn’t been there to catch him. Sam tried to help him sit up, but almost all of his muscles were completely slack. Castiel felt like a limp noodle. After a minute, though, he could feel his body going back to normal. “Maybe not as fine as I thought.”

“What just happened?” Sam asked, his eyes wide. Castiel pushed himself to sit up, crosslegged.

“Cataplexy. It’s pretty rare for me, especially with my meds, but…” He trailed off with a sigh. “I haven’t taken them in almost a week and cataplexy tends to be worse when you’re tired.”

“What’s cataplexy?”

“Dictionary definition says sudden and brief muscle weakness, basically. It can be partial or total, like that was, and is brought on by emotions like excitement or anger. It’s common in narcolepsy, but not everyone has it and mine only comes on when I’m really tired and off my meds.”

“Like right now,” Sam supplied. Castiel sighed and nodded.

“Like right now.” He shifted, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I’m gonna have to tell Raph not to pick me up. I guess I’ll be riding with you guys. Can’t go see Gabe if I’m having cataplexy attacks, I could risk hurting him.”

“I’ll walk with you out to the van then, just let me finish grabbing my stuff,” Sam told Castiel, who nodded again.

“Probably a good idea, just in case it happens again. It shouldn’t, but who knows, right?”

“Yeah. Come on, are you able to stand up?”

“I think so.”

Sam helped Castiel to his feet and after a brief stop at Sam’s locker, the pair made their way to the tree just in time for Dean to pull up in the van. Gadreel was the first to notice them.

“Are you coming with us, Cas?” He asked. Castiel merely nodded. “Why? I thought you were set on seeing Gabe right after.”

“Cataplexy,” Castiel muttered. Gadreel froze, then his face fell

“When was the last time you took your meds?”

“The night he crashed.” This came without hesitation as he crawled into the back of the van, an unfamiliar feeling. Usually, he was asleep and woke up in the seat.

“You damn idiot,” Gadreel sighed, following Balthazar into the vehicle. Out of habit, they left the passenger seat open. “You’re gonna take a nap, right?” 

“Yes, Gad, I’m going to sleep. I do know how to take care of myself.”

“Doesn’t look that way,” Castiel’s cousin shot back. “You said it yourself, you’ve been off your meds. Why does it take cataplexy attacks to remind you to take care of yourself?”

“ _Usually_ , I’m fine. This was a fluke, and do you blame me? My brother’s in the hospital, in a _coma_. Forgive me for being a little stressed.”

Gadreel opened his mouth to reply, then sighed. “You’re getting worked up and I don’t want you to have another attack. Take a nap, a _long_ one, and we’ll talk about this tomorrow, after you’ve taken your meds and gotten a bit more rest.”

Castiel let out a breath but conceded, curling up on his seat and using his arms as a pillow. Sam doubted that he would be able to fall asleep like that but was proven wrong when, moments later, his breathing evened out and he was sleeping.

He didn’t wake up until they’d gotten back to the house, and even then, it was difficult to wake him. Sam volunteered to carry his things inside while Gadreel followed his sleepy brother to make sure he didn’t collapse on the way in. The black-haired teen did, however, flop onto one of the couches and close his eyes, falling asleep again, in a matter of seconds, not even bothering to remove his shoes, which Gadreel did. After a moment, Sam left, going home to find Dean already there.

“So did you get an update of the kid in the hospital?” John asked. 

Dean shrugged. “There’s not much to update, he still hasn’t woken up. He’s stable, but that’s about it.”

“Castiel came back to school today,” Sam chimed in. 

“Is that the narcoleptic one?”

“Yeah. Apparently he’s been with Gabriel this whole time and not taking his medicine. Didn’t go very well for him, he was falling asleep the entire day and had a cataplexy attack.”

“What’s that?”

“He said it was like sudden muscle weakness when dealing with stronger emotions like anger. All I know is that we were arguing and he suddenly fell totally limp. According to him, it’s rare for him to have attacks and his medicine makes it so that he almost never gets attacks. He’s at home, taking a nap right now, so he’ll be better soon I think.”

“Well. That sounds pretty shitty to have to deal with.”

Sam shrugged. “Yeah, I’d assume so.”

“He’s sleeping now though, right?” Dean asked. “I never got the chance to check.”

“Why not?” This was John.

“I was driving. Usually it’s Gabriel that drives, but he’s in the hospital. Then it would be Raphael, who’s working, and I drove the big van to school, so it’s not like Michael or Chuck, should the miraculous moment they’re around occur, could drive up in it.”

A slight frown crossed John’s face at the mention of Chuck Shurley, Castiel’s father, but it was gone before Sam could even be sure it was there.

“Well,” John sighed. “You two might as well get on your homework. Can’t have your grades slipping.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed halfheartedly, sending Sam upstairs with just a glance. A few minutes later, he followed, thankfully.

Sam didn’t know if he could handle patching up his brother, once again, while his mind was full of worry for Gabriel, Castiel, and all the residents of the Shurley house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the lack of updates for a few days! During this, I ended up writing into a hole and couldn't figure out how to continue. You'll notice the chapter ends kind of abruptly- that's my fault for just wanting to get to the next one. It should be out soon and -Spoiler Alert- we'll see some Chuck!
> 
> Also- Cataplexy. I do not have narcolepsy, nor do I know anyone with narcolepsy. I'm writing off the research I can get from the internet. I apologize for any medical inaccuracies I have or will have in this work, or any of my works.


	14. John

John sighed as he sat at the bar. The area was quickly familiar to him, becoming a place he was at more than his own house. He figured he should feel bad about that, about leaving his boys at home alone, but with the pleasant fuzz of alcohol dulling his senses, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to care. About that or anything else. The only thing he ever seemed to feel when drunk was anger, and even that felt dull, like he was detached or something.

“Hey Chuck!” He called across the bar to the bartender. He held up his glass and the man nodded, moving to fill another with whiskey, setting it in front of John. As he leaned against the counter, the night was slow so he only had a few customers, he contemplated the man in front of him.

He was obviously damaged. No perfectly fine person came in as often to drink as much as he did. He’d been around so much that the two were on a first-name basis. He usually came in during Chuck’s shift, no matter the day. It wasn’t too surprising. Chuck was in from 7 to 3 every night, off a little early if he was lucky, like the day he’d found the two neighbor boys in his living room. He was lucky that night, truly- two of his coworkers had arrived early so he almost  _ had _ to leave early. He was sure they’d done it on purpose.

“I’m a shit father, Chuck,” John muttered. It seemed like he’d moved past the numb side of his drunken state and was now nearing emotional or simply talkative.

“What’d you do?” Chuck asked. 

"What  _ didn't _ I do," John chuckled darkly. "For starters, I'm here instead of making sure they go to bed on time. I don't cook for them. I drink around them." He let out a breath. "Dean's a good kid. He's such a good kid. He's raised Sammy all on his own and what do I give him? An asshole, drunkard of a father."

Chuck was about to reply when a familiar redhead slid into the seat next to John. 

"Hello, Charles," Rowena greeted, her Scottish drawl drawing out the r. 

"Hey, Ro," Chuck replied. "The usual?"

"Of course."

Chuck poured the woman a glass of red wine and set it in front of her before turning back to John. 

"Well, I'm in no place to give parental advice, and saying this will probably make me a hypocrite, but I would try to be around them more. Interact with them before it's too late. Don't try to push it, though. They're used to you not being around so you may have to ease them into it."

"What are we talking about?" Rowena asked, sipping her wine. 

"How I'm a shitty father," John told her. 

"Oh, Rowena, this is John. John, this is Rowena."

"Pleasure," Rowena smiled slightly. "Charles, how is Gabriel doing? Uriel told me what happened."

Chuck shook his head. "I don't know, Rowena. It's not like I'm around. All I know is from the updates from Raph and Mike and I'm lucky to get those. It's not like I deserve them."

"Gabriel? As in Gabriel Shurley?" John asked. 

"Yeah. Bunch of siblings, lives on Westminster? Do you know him?"

"My boys do. We're neighbors."

"Oh, right, Sam and Dean!"

"Sam and Dean?" Rowena cut in. "Sam and Dean Winchester?"

"Yeah?"

"My son, Fergus, has mentioned Sam. He's a freshman, right?"

"Yeah, Dean's a senior."

"I know Dean. He's in my advanced Chemistry class. Pretends not to pay attention, but when we do labs, he gets almost perfect marks. He’s a great boy. You did well with him.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t have been me. That would be Bobby’s influence.”

“Who’s Bobby?” Chuck asked, coming back from taking care of other customers.

“Bobby Singer, a friend of mine that lives in South Dakota. He took care of the boys a lot when they were little. I was on the road a lot then, especially when Sammy was a baby. I used to take them with me, but Bobby convinced me to leave them with him at some point. How do you know them, Chuck?”

“Oh, the night Gabe got sick, they turned up in my living room. Don’t know why they were there, but they were hanging out with Gabe while he was low. Dean looked pretty beat up though, do you know what happened?”

“I noticed that too,” Rowena murmured into her glass. “Stitches across his forehead, yes?”

“He got in a fight,” John spat out the first lie he could think of. “He doesn’t get in many, and from what he says, he never starts them, but he usually ends up on the bad side of the end. I don’t know why or how, I taught him how to fight, especially hand-to-hand, and he’s pretty good.”

“Maybe he doesn’t fight back. Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt anyone and he’s just defending someone else?” 

John shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he’s mentioned something about keeping someone safe.” All of this, he was panicking. What if he slipped up, admitted it was him that Dean ‘fought’, and the boys were taken away from him? He didn’t think he’d be able to stand that. “Anyway, how are the rest of your kids handling everything?”

“I don’t really know,” Chuck sighed. “Anna and Sophia are too young to understand, I think they just told Anna that Gabe’s sick. Rachel and Baz are old enough to understand, but I don’t think that they’re getting told much either. Raph’s been keeping Nat away from the hospital, but Ambriel and up have gone. Gadreel and Uriel are there fairly often, I think mostly on the weekend. I didn’t hear much about Castiel, but Mike mentioned at one point that he was almost always there. I don’t think I heard about him leaving more than once or twice over the last week.”

“Sam mentioned that he was back at school today,” John murmured. “He’s at home right now, far as I know. Something about cataplexy?”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” Chuck’s demeanor changed and he jolted upright. “Are you sure that’s what he said?”

“Um, yeah. Muscle weakness? I think there was something about not taking his medicine, either.”

“Oh,  _ no _ …” Chuck ran his hands over his face, folding his fingers. “ _ Crap _ , this is not good.”

“Why?”

“Cas’ medicine keeps the cataplexy away, and it’s rare for him to get the attacks even without the meds, but he does, especially when he’s tired. If he’s getting the attacks, it means he’s been forcing himself from sleeping at the right times, not taking his meds so he’s probably not sleeping at night and if he is, he’s up every few hours, which definitely doesn’t help. Cataplexy can be really dangerous, cause if it’s total, your entire body goes limp and you can’t stand. You could end up injuring yourself.”

“I can ask Fergus to keep an eye on him, text him and make sure he goes to bed at a good time,” Rowena offered. “He’s been itching to have his friends over anyway, I can tell him to invite Castiel and then make sure they go to bed.”

“That may help,” Chuck murmured. “I wouldn’t force it on him, though, just say that he can invite them whenever it’s good for you.”

“I’ll do that then,” Rowena nodded. She didn’t move to do anything though, simply took another sip of wine. The glass was almost empty.

“Want any more before I go on my break?” Chuck asked. She shook her head.

“Not tonight. I told Fergus I would be back early. He wanted to have a movie night and stay up late. I couldn’t deny him, he’s been looking stressed.”

“I think that’s true for every upperclassman,” John chuckled. “The few moments I see Dean, he’s always distracted, thinking about something else and saying he has homework.”

“That could be my fault. I do assign a lot.”

“Do your boys do any sports?” Chuck asked John. “They’re a big deal here, even though the football season starts a bit late. There’s a game coming up next Friday, in a week, and I managed to get off. Nat and Uri are both playing at some point I believe. Hopefully Gabe will be able to come, he’s been to every game since Mike started playing.”

“No, we don’t spend enough time in one place to do anything,” John replied. “The boys don’t seem too interested in doing anything either. We did stay in New York for a few months last winter, he wrestled a bit, was pretty good, I heard. I wasn’t around most of the time.”

In truth, Dean was in a boys’ home. He’d been caught stealing while they were in a motel room and John had left him, taking Sam with on his trip, got rid of the motel room, and didn’t buy a house. He didn’t like advertising that fact, however, and Dean  _ had _ been in New York.

“If we do stick around, though, I may see if Dean wants to get into wrestling again.”

“Gadreel, my nephew, wrestles. It’s a good program we have here.”

“Well, what sports do your kids do?”

“My oldest five, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel have all played football. Gadreel wrestles, my daughter Ambriel plays volleyball, and Nat’s playing football as well. Cas never cared much for sports. He draws though, and has other interests. I think my nephew Balthazar was going to try the archery team this year, but I’m not sure when that starts. The other three girls are too young.

“How old  _ are _ all your kids?” John asked. “How many do you have?”

“Too many,” Rowena smirked. “I’ve had a Shurley every year I’ve been teaching and I’m nowhere  _ near _ the end of them.”

“Very funny,” Chuck deadpanned, humor glimmering in his eyes. “I have ten, but one moved away, and my sister’s three kids live with us. Michael, my oldest, is 26. Lucifer, the one that moved, is 24. Raphael is 20, Gabe is 19, Uriel is 18 now, Gad and Cas are both 16. Ambriel is 15, Nat is 14, Balthazar is almost 13, Rachel is 10, Anna’s 3, and Sophia, my niece, turns 3 a few days after Baz’s birthday.”

“Damn.”

“How do you manage to remember that?” Rowena asked.

Chuck shrugged. “Those are the days I work hardest to be off for. I try to be off for the first matches the kids have of their sports seasons and I try to go to senior nights, but birthdays are a lot more important. It’s amusing, I take off like, the entire week before Christmas.”

“Why?” John frowned.

“Mike’s birthday is the twenty-second. Then Luci was born on the twenty-third, Raph on the twenty-fourth, and Gabe on Christmas. I have no clue how that ended up working out, but it did.”

Rowena took the last sip of wine and set the glass down. “I best be out. See you soon, Charles John, it was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” John replied.

“See you, Ro.”

She left and John, who had been unable to see her outfit before, saw that the redhead was wearing a tight, floor-length dress.

“Well, I’m on my break in a few minutes…” Chuck murmured. Without a person he knew well and was comfortable with, he quickly reduced back into his socially awkward shell.

“Yeah.” John let out a huff of air, turning his empty glass over in his hands. “I should probably be done.”

“I would say so,” Chuck agreed. “Would you like a ride home?”

“I should be alright.”

“You sure? I have enough time to get you back. That way you don’t have to worry about driving impaired. I don’t know your tolerance, but you’ve had a lot tonight.”

“Less than usual. But sure, why not.”

“Great. Give me a few minutes. You won’t mind if I talk to Raphael on the way, will you?”

“No, no, do what you need to. I’m assuming you’re going to ask for an update?”

“On Gabriel? Yeah.”

True to his word, Chuck came around the counter with his keys in hand. He led John to a small car parked around the back, dialing Raphael before starting the car. He had the phone on speaker, which he made sure was okay with John.

“ _ Hey _ ,” A male voice greeted. John could only assume it was Raphael.

“Hey Raph. I’m on break, gonna stop by the house for a few seconds. How’re the kids?”

“ _ Alright. Sending the last few to bed. _ ” Across the line, they heard a voice reminding Castiel to take his meds.

“How’s Cas? I heard he had cataplexy issues?”

“ _ Did I not tell you? Sorry. He got home from school today and apparently had an attack in the hallway just as school ended. The moment I got home, I made him take a nap and I’m not sending him to school tomorrow. I didn’t realize he wasn’t taking his meds when he was with Gabe, otherwise I would have made him. _ ”

“Just, uh… Make sure he’s back on routine soon. We set those times for a reason, not to be disregarded.”

“ _ I know. I’m sorry. I should have kept him on schedule _ .”

“How’s Gabe? Any change?”

“ _ Nothing. He hasn’t woken up. _ ”

“How did this happen?”

“ _ I’ve already- _ ” He cut himself off with a sigh. “ _ His sugar had been holding low for a few days. He ate a lot of Oreos and Smarties, drank a lot of Coke and orange juice. The amount he ate should have thrown him dangerously high but the highest he ever got was 420 the first day after a carb binge. We tried to binge him again but it didn’t do much. Sam and Dean came over one night and I was asleep since I’d been up with him for multiple nights, babysitting lows. Uri, Gad, and Cas were with him and I guess they went to bed when Sam and Dean got there. I don’t really know about that part. The next morning, I woke up to Soph crying and waited a bit for Gabe to quiet her cause he usually does and I was only like, half-awake. He didn’t and I went to see if he was in his room and he was asleep. That didn’t make sense cause he’d been low so much, so I tried to wake him up and couldn’t so I ran to grab his testing kit and monitor and he was at 17. Me and Uriel took him to the hospital as soon as possible, Cas wasn’t even up by the time we left, and we got him there literally as fast as I could legally go. _ ”

“You should have been watching him, Raphael.”

“ _ I know, I know. I was just trying to sleep so I didn’t fall asleep when it was just us two and Uri and Gad and Cas were with him, then Sam and Dean were. And when I went home for a few minutes to grab a different change of clothes, after everyone was at school, his second thing of Oreos was empty, the orange juice was almost out, and his bag of Smarties was emptied earlier that day. I got back and the doctors said it was a defective pod that didn’t regulate insulin, it just kept dumping it in and added way too much after he bolused. There was just way too much insulin in his body and somehow, everything he ate didn’t do it, he just kept dropping and dropping. One of his nightstand drawers, the one he keeps the glucose pen in, was open and I think he was trying to get it but forgot what he was doing. _ ”

They pulled up to their houses and John got out, thanking Chuck for the ride. He nodded and parked in his driveway, hanging up as he went inside. As John went into his own house, the lights were already shut off. 

He didn’t miss, however, the sounds of a movie playing from Dean’s laptop and the soft voices floating through his older son’s open door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. Rude, Chuck. 
> 
> So my updates will be less often. I use a school laptop and they blocked AO3 so while I can still write on Google Docs, I can’t post them on the computer I use. This means that I will still be writing and you’ll probably get multiple chapters in one burst, but I can’t say how often that will be. Most likely it will be in the middle of the night, not like that’s unusual, because then I’ll be able to get on a different laptop and use it. The chapters may also be edited more, because I usually just write and post. I don’t usually like to edit because then I just hate it. That’s also why you see some typos. I write on both laptop and phone and sometimes I mess up words, especially when I’m typing literally as I fall asleep. Please excuse typos that have and will occur!


	15. Sam

“Where’s Cas?” Dean asked as the neighbors loaded into the van.

“House arrest,” Uriel replied. “ _ Someone _ -” Gadreel waved. “Told Raphael about the cataplexy and Raph locked him down. No leaving the house for a few days while he regulates again and takes his meds exactly on time. No seeing Gabe, no school, nothing.”

“He’s taking advantage of it right now,” Ambriel told them. She didn’t speak much around the Winchester brothers, but when she did, she tended to be quiet. “Sleeping in. He came down as we all woke up but went back up when he remembered he wasn’t going to school.” 

The school day went as usual- Dean dropped the high schoolers off, took the girls to school and the babysitter, then came back and signed in late. Afterward, he drove around and picked everyone up, then got back home.

“Is it okay if I come in?” Sam asked. “I have his schoolwork and Mr. Benedict asked me to help him get caught up.”

“Might as well,” Gadreel shrugged. “Nobody ever said he couldn’t have people over.”

Dean came with them as well and the group made their way into the Shurley house, where, upon opening the door, they were blasted by the scent of fresh bread.

“Cas, we’re home!” Gadreel called as though this were a normal occurrence. Sam and Dean exchanged a confused look. Castiel emerged from the kitchen, his hands held carefully in front of him so he didn’t touch anything. He was dressed in a t-shirt and fuzzy pajama pants, his hair messier than ever, and he had a smear of something on his cheek.

“Hey guys,” He greeted. “I’m making bread.”

“Any cookies?” Balthazar asked.

“Of course.”

A few seconds later, there was the sound of outraged spitting. 

“You  _ jerk _ , these are raisin!”

Cas’ face crumpled in a fit of laughter. “Gabe likes them!”

“You dirty  _ peasant _ , how could you!?”

“There’s chocolate chip on the other plate.”

“Thank you,” Balthazar muttered, elbowing him as he walked past holding three cookies.

“I stress bake,” Cas explained slightly sheepishly to a confused Sam and Dean. “Usually bread, so I have something good to do with my hands, but I made some batches of cookies while I waited for the dough to rise.”

“Um… I have your missed work for today. If you want, I can help get you caught back up.” Sam mumbled.

“That would probably be a good idea,” Castiel grinned. “I just put my second loaf of bread in and I should stop making stuff. I think Raph’ll kill me if I ask him to get more flour.” 

“What’s with the raisin cookies?” Dean asked.

“They’re Gabe’s favorite. It’s a recipe we’ve had for a while, it’s really good actually. I’m hoping he wakes up soon and when he does, he’ll have cookies waiting for him.”

“Did you make bread?” Rachel asked as she came back from upstairs. It occured to Sam that he’d never been anywhere in the house but the living room, bathroom, and Gabriel’s room for a few rushed moments. He had no clue what was upstairs.

“Yeah, but it’s hot, so don’t try for any right now.” Castiel told his sister. “Come back in a bit.”

“Cool!” Rachel grinned. “You  _ have _ to try Cassie’s bread,” She told Sam and Dean. “It’s the  _ best _ . Even better than Momma’s was.”

“Alright, alright, go outside,” Castiel shooed his sister out of the house, laughing. “Bread later.” He then turned back to Sam and Dean. Let me wash my hands, then we can work on schoolwork if that’s okay with you?”

“Fine by me.” Sam shrugged. “Dean?”

“Sure. I’ll hang around for a bit, maybe try a cookie.”

“Go for it,” Castiel called as he turned on the kitchen sink, rubbing the bread dough from his skin. “You literally can’t take too many.”

Sam and Dean entered the kitchen after him and saw why he said that.

The plates with cookies on them were  _ huge _ , bigger than any dishes Dean was comfortable with having in the house, and  _ heaping _ with cookies. There were only two, the raisin and chocolate chip ones, but that didn’t seem to make a difference as Dean grabbed a cookie from each plate. Sam followed his lead, taking a bite from what he discovered to be a raisin cookie first.

“I’ve tried to make oatmeal raisin before, but hated the texture of the dough, both when rolling it and eating it. I was a bit of a picky eater when I was little and refused to eat anything that had oats in it, but Gabe and Raph adored oatmeal raisin cookies. Mom found a compromise with just raisin cookies and we grew up on those instead.”

“You guys baked a lot growing up?” Dean asked as Castiel dried his hands.

“Oh yeah,” He nodded, tossing his towel on an open part of the island. “Before Rachel, it was me, Luci, and Gabe. We’d make cookies almost every weekend and Mom taught us bread when I was seven. When Rachel was old enough, she joined us and Uriel popped in sometimes. Nat, Mike, and Raph never really cared much for making things, but they did love eating the products.” He gave a wistful laugh. “When they would come in and the cookies were still cooling, she’d whack their hands with the same plastic spatula she’d just used to move the cookies to the cooling racks. Ask Mike, he’s got tiny burn scars across his knuckles from how many times he’d tried to snatch one right after she’d just picked one up.” He sighed, a small smile lingering on his lips. “There was once that Luci legit  _ tackled _ Mike after he made off with one he’d been eyeing but wasn’t cooled enough. Mom kicked them both out of the house for the rest of the afternoon. In the end, neither got the cookie. Mike had dropped it and it went under Dad’s writing desk. That was the summer after Mike graduated, so he must have been eighteen. Luci was sixteen. He’d just gotten the left tackle position on the team and used every opportunity he could to bring Mike or Raph to the ground. He did with Gabe, too, but since he was only 11, he didn’t much. He never wanted to risk hurting him or mess up his pod, especially when we were littler.” He took a cookie and bit into it with a sigh. “Anyways, school. Uh, we can go to my room. I think it’d be easier to work without anyone around and no wind.”

“Okay,” Sam shrugged. Three of them left the kitchen, Dean going outside to watch the kids and make sure nobody got hurt while Sam and Castiel went upstairs.

Castiel turned left off the stairs, to where Sam’s room would have been if they were in his house, and opened the door. 

Inside were two bunk beds and four small dressers. The bunks resting with their long sides against the longer wall, adjacent to the wall with a window. A small bookshelf resided between the bunk beds, looking as though it were made to fit in that exact space. There was little else in the room, just a hamper next to each dresser, each at a different fill of dirty clothes. One bed, a bottom bunk, had a basket of folded clothes sitting on it. Three of the four beds were neatly made, one of the top bunks ruffled up. The two bottom beds were made a different way than the top one. They were much tighter than the top was, hospital corners tucked tightly and a blanket folded at the foot.

They looked similar to Sam and Dean’s beds.

“Those are Gad’s and Baz’s beds,” Castiel explained, climbing up a ladder to the ruffled one, which was very blue- blue sheets, pillowcase, blankets. His backpack was sitting on top, which he grabbed and hopped off the ladder. “Their dad was military.”

“Marine?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Cause that’s how Dad taught Dean and me to make our beds. He was a Marine.”

“Really? How many tours?”

Sam went to answer, then paused with a frown. “I don’t know. He never said.”

Castiel nodded and the two began getting their things out, an unspoken agreement that they were working on the floor.

“Hey, um…” Sam seemed hesitant. “Uh, what… What happened to Gadreel’s and Balthazar’s and Sophia’s parents? Your aunt and uncle?”

“Oh, uh,” Castiel let out a short laugh. “That’s complicated.”

“You don’t have to tell me, I was just-”

“It’s fine, it’s just not a great situation. Gad doesn’t like talking about it. Um, Aunt Amara’s in a mental ward. She’s… Not been in a good place. We’ve thought she was gonna get out a few times, she’s been there a bit less than two years, but both times, she ended up backtracking before she even got out. Uncle Erebus… I’m not exactly clear on the details. I’m sure Gabe knows, cause he’s Gabe, but nobody ever told me anything past that he’s in jail and is gonna be there for a while. I think… Maybe 12 more years? I’m not sure. He was locked up about a year and a half ago and Dad got a call about it and Mike and Gabe went to get Gad, Baz, and Soph, and Eru was locked up and it was a mess. I hung out with Gad most of the time and he didn’t talk about it. He was pretty torn up. He loved his dad.”

“That… That really sucks,” Sam murmured. He was about as close with Gadreel as he was Castiel and hated the idea that either of his friends would be hurting.

“Just don’t mention it to him,” Castiel ordered. “He doesn’t like talking about it and last time he did, he closed off like, really hard. It took ages to get him out of his shell again.”

“Alright,” Sam agreed. “So. School.”

The two worked for hours to get Castiel caught up on the week’s amount of school he’d missed. Thankfully, he was a quick learner and picked it up quickly. They paused once so he could get the other loaf of bread out of the oven and around the three hour mark, he sat back.

“I’m sorry, I just… I'm exhausted.”

“That’s fine,” Sam told him. “Take a nap, we’re almost done. I’ll go downstairs and leave my notes here so you can copy them at some point, just send them with Gadreel or someone to return them to me the next day.”

“Alright. Thanks, Sam,” Castiel was already crawling up the ladder to his bed as he spoke. Sam nodded, gathering his things and leaving the last pages of notes with Castiel’s stuff. 

“No problem. See you later.”

“See you,” Castiel mumbled. Sam thought that by the time he’d left the room, Castiel was asleep.

Sam didn’t even realize it was raining until he emerged from the stairs to see everyone inside. He also hadn’t realized it was dinnertime until Gadreel paused as he left the kitchen, passing the stairs.

“Oh hey,” He greeted. “It’s dinnertime. I was about to call. Where’s Cas?”

“He literally just fell asleep,” Sam explained. “I left the last of the notes we were going over with his stuff and told him to send them with one of you guys when he finished with them. Where’s Dean?”

“Right here, we’re eating with them.”

“Raph made it,” Balthazar chimed in, opening the orange pill bottle Sam recognized as his enzymes. He still was unclear on what they did, but he took them with everything he ate.

“Alright, man, I gotta ask,” Dean spoke as though he read Sam’s mind. “What do those  _ do _ ? Like, why do you take them?”

“My enzymes?”

“Yeah.”

“SDS is dumb and makes my pancreas not make the enzymes I need to digest food right, so these simulate the natural enzymes that I don’t get. If I didn’t take them, we wouldn’t have one of the bathrooms free for the night.”

“It’s kind of like how Gabe, with Type 1, doesn’t make insulin, Baz doesn’t make enzymes.” Gadreel chimed in. “Although with Gabe, it’s more of a life-threatening, you desperately need insulin, type thing. With Baz, he’ll be uncomfortable for a few days then it gets kind of bad. He already doesn’t absorb all the vitamins he needs so he takes supplements at night, but without the enzymes, he won’t absorb like,  _ any _ of the nutrition from food he eats so if he doesn’t take the enzymes, he’ll lose a lot of weight, have to deal with malnutrition, that sort of ugly thing.”

“A lot of SDS babies deal with failure to thrive, especially before diagnosis, if they’ve got the pancreatic insufficiency I do, because they aren’t getting food. It’s not very fun.”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Dean murmured. “How  _ much _ , exactly, do you guys deal with?”

“Way too much.” Gadreel replied. “We’ve hardly touched on what being immunodeficient means for me in winter, you know, when the sport I play is going on. Along with that, Baz is immunosuppressed so if one of us gets sick, you can guarantee that the other is too. It’s great."

Sam let out a heavy breath. “That’s complicated.”

“When has it ever not been?” Gadreel grinned, then turned as the door slammed open. Uriel, Nathaniel, and Ambriel all trooped in, completely drenched from the heavy rain. “Hey, guys.”

“We got rained out,” Nathaniel grumbled as Uriel disappeared, returning with towels that he handed out to his soaked siblings. “Ambi didn’t, but we did.”

“Elijah gave us a ride,” Ambriel said as she pulled her glasses off, drying her hair. “They got rained out too.”

“Alright, go get dinner,” Gadreel told them.

“Who’s Elijah?” Dean asked.

“Her boyfriend,” Uriel replied gruffly.

“Don't start this again!” Ambriel warned.

“What? I don't like the guy!”

“Why, cause he does cross-country instead of football? Would you prefer I date Alastair?”

“Oh  _ hell _ no, don’t go anywhere  _ near _ that slimeball. He’s disgusting.”

Sam tensed at the mention of Alastair, but Dean was only confused.

“Who’s Alastair?”

“Guy on the football team,” Uriel replied gruffly. “He’s a senior and if he was able to play and slack off in his grades at the same time, he would. He’s the exact kind of guy you expect to smoke, drink, do drugs, and his work ethic is  _ terrible _ . If I could kick him off the team, I would in a heartbeat. He complains more about practicing than he actually practices.”

Uriel and Gadreel both glanced surreptitiously at Sam, who shook his head. This wasn’t the time or place.

“Azazel and Abraxas are hardly better,” Nathaniel joined in. “They’re also on the team. Complete deadbeats, all of them, they’ve made us run suicides way too many time before.”

“Suicides?” Dean asked. Sam played with his hands, trying to disguise his nervousness by taking another bite of his dinner.

“They’re  _ awful _ ,” Nathaniel groaned. “I never thought I’d hate running so much.”

“I use them as punishments,” Uriel explained. “It’s a running exercise that gets pretty rough after a while. Usually it’s the 3 A-holes that cause it. Typically they’re doing something they shouldn’t be and I catch them or a teacher tells me. Skipping class, failing classes, cheating, bullying-” Uriel’s eyes flickered to and away from Sam. “They’ve done it all and whenever I hear of it, suicides for everyone on the team. It’s unpleasant but the only way I can think to get it through their thick skulls to not do things that are obviously against our rules for being on the team. The only reason Coach hasn’t kicked them off, I think, is cause Alastair’s father is responsible for a big part of the funding for the team. Someday, though, he’s gonna get himself suspended or expelled and I will  _ cheer _ .”

The conversation continued and Uriel was almost finished by the time Castiel reappeared. He was rumpled, his hair messier than ever as he rubbed at his eyes.

“What’s dinner?” He asked sleepily. He’d obviously just woken up.

“Baked ziti,” Raphael, who had arrived from school in time to make dinner, answered. He’d been pretty quiet throughout the meal, focusing on eating quickly. He had a shift coming up. “Might be cold.”

“Eh.” Castiel shrugged, shuffling off to the kitchen. He came back with a small bowl of pasta and Balthazar, who had been sitting in his seat, moved wordlessly. By the time he’d finished eating, he’d woken up some more. After everyone was done and Raphael left, Gadreel suggested a game night. When his idea was agreed to, he and Castiel grabbed board games off a shelf Dean hadn’t noticed was there. Through the night, they played Sorry, Trouble, Twister (which was full of awkward giggling and Castiel backed out in the middle of the game, expertly disentangling himself from his brothers and friends), and Apples to Apples. At least three of the games were being played at one time due to the amount of people, and eventually, it was time for bed. Uriel took over, which seemed natural as he was oldest, older than even Dean, but only by four months.

“Rache, Baz, it’s past bedtime. Go.” He first shooed the youngest two that were still awake, Sophia and Anna having been put to bed hours earlier. “Nat, Ambi, get ready for bed.”

By the time the games were packed up and Nathaniel and Ambriel were in bed, Castiel was lying across one of the couches, his face mashed up against the arm rest.

“Cas, bed,” Uriel shook him and was rewarded with a groan.

“ ‘M asleep.”

“You need to take your meds and go.”

“Sleepin’.”

“Alright, come on,” Gadreel heaved his cousin to his feet, ignoring his sleepy protests. “Let’s go.”

He got Castiel’s medicine out for him and helped the slowly waking teen take it, then heaved him up the stairs. It took longer than expected; Castiel wasn’t helping, and by the time he managed to get all the way up the stairs, Castiel was fast asleep, his medicine acting quickly today.

“Dammit Cas,” Gadreel groaned as he carried his cousin and somehow heaved him onto the top bunk. “I’m a wrestler, I don’t just carry people. That’s Uri’s job.”

Castiel, of course, didn’t respond. Balthazar, who was already in bed, shifted in his sleep. Gadreel left quietly, though not as quiet as Castiel could move, and made his way back down the stairs.

“Why don’t you guys stay here?” Uriel was suggesting. “It’s still pouring and you’ll be soaked by the time you get home.”

“Probably smart,” Dean muttered, glancing outside at the rain that hadn’t let up all afternoon. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all. You can probably take Gabe and Luci’s beds, they won’t… They’re not using them. Uh, downstairs-”

“It’s okay, we can just sleep in here,” Dean interrupted. He could see how the mere mention of Lucifer hurt him, just like it did almost any of the siblings. For all intents and purposes, Dean included the Miltons when he thought about ‘the siblings’ or ‘the Shurleys’. It was just easier, they pretty much were. “We took the couches last time.”

“Alright, that works. Well, me and Gad are going. Don’t stay up too late and don’t be noisy, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Dean answered. This wasn’t his house, he wouldn’t make a mess in it. “Thanks, man.”

“Not a problem. Night, you two.”

“Night,” Gadreel echoed, following his cousin up the stairs.

“Night,” Sam and Dean echoed, almost at the same time. 

Dean saw Sam giving the couch he’d slept on last time a dubious glance.

“I’ll take the couch this time, you sleep on the floor,” He told his younger brother, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Last time he’d slept on that couch, Gabriel had ended up in the hospital.

Sam cast him a grateful glance and after the brothers were set up for the night, the lights went out.

~

“Hey, Gabbie,” Cas sighed after Raphael left the hospital room. “Sorry I’ve not been around. I wasn’t taking my meds and had a few cataplexy attacks. Raph made me stay home until I took my meds again and only let me come back to see you after I promised to take them. But I’m here now and I’m not leaving. I’ll just be sleeping right this time around.”

Cas sniffed a bit. “I really hope you wake up soon. I made you cookies. I’ve drawn all over your arms. You gotta wash that off soon or the ink won’t come off your skin. Like, ever. It’s Sharpie.” He rubbed his thumb across his brother’s hand. “Do you like the flowers? The gladiolus were wilting so I replaced them. I was thinking about bringing in some of your naked men but thought that would be inappropriate so I clipped in some of the monkey faces. Your protea’s blooming and I took the first one and brought that in too. You should see it. I think they’re particularly beautiful this year.” He continued, despite his voice breaking. “Come on, you gotta wake up. The first football game is next week and Uri an’ Nat’re both playing. You’ve never missed a game in your life, please don’t start now.” Cas wiped his face with the back of his wrist. “Now look, you’ve got me blubberin’ like a baby.”

He watched as Gabe’s eyes flickered under his eyelids. “What're you dreaming about in there, huh? Hookers ‘n all the sweets you can fit in your face at a time with your only worry being how much weight you’ll gain from it all?”

Castiel stood up from his seat, grabbing a paper towel and wiping his face only to drop it a few seconds later.

“Porn stars. They were porn stars, Cassie.”


	16. Castiel

Castiel spun on his heel, unsure if he’d been hearing things. He discovered he wasn’t, however, when he caught sight of a pair of warm whiskey eyes sparkling at him with all their typical mirth. A choked sob was released from his throat as he thoughtlessly stumbled to the bed, falling against Gabriel as he pulled him in a hug, burying his nose in his brother’s soft golden hair.

“ _ Uff _ . Cassie, kid, I love you. I really do. But  _ get off _ .”

“Sorry. Sorry.” Cas scrambled to his feet then sunk in his chair, shaking. “You’re- you’re-”

“I’m okay, Cassie. I’m okay. But- uh…” Gabriel shifted uncertainly, eyes following the tubes connected to him. “Mind telling me why I’m in the hospital?”

“Well, um, what do you remember?”

At that moment, a soft knock sounded at the door. If Castiel was right, it was Ephraim’s. And right he was, as the familiar strawberry-blond came in a few seconds later.

“Hey, Castiel,” The nurse greeted, as he always did. “How’s Gabriel today?”

“Groggy and confused,” Gabe answered for his brother. Ephraim jumped slightly and turned to see his patient awake. Obviously surprised, he quickly moved to the computer and unlocked it, typing a few things in.

“When did he wake up?”

“Just a few seconds ago. He surprised me.”

“Seems to be a trend. Anyone mind tellin’ me what’s going on?”

“Again, what do you remember?”

“Kid, it’s all fuzzy,” Gabriel groaned as he lifted one hand to press the heel against the top of the bridge of his nose. “I was low, holding real low for like, a week? Then, one night, Sam shows up at the house and… I kinda lose it there. I remember something about a pen? I remember hearing you though, talking to me. Like… Like you were with me.”

“You had fallen into a coma due to your dangerously low blood sugar. When we found you, we rushed you here. We, uh…” Cas looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “We weren’t sure you were gonna make it. Nobody had any idea how long you’d been out. You were at 17 when Raph tested you just before he took you to the car.”

“Jesus,” Gabe muttered, rubbing his hands over his face, moving carefully to avoid disturbing the numerous tubes in his arms. “I’m sorry, kid.”

“It’s not your fault,” Cas argued. “It was a faulty pod causing the problems with your sugar. It wasn’t listening to the monitor and just kept dumping insulin in you. There was nothing you could have done, I’m sure of it.”

“I’m going to go get a doctor and contact your family,” Ephraim interrupted gently. “We’ll be back in just a few moments.”

“Thank you,” Castiel murmured, turning back to Gabriel as the door clicked softly shut.

“Come here,” Gabe laughed as he saw Cas shooting him furtive, worried looks. “You can hug me, it’s not like you’ll crush me or somethin’. I was just surprised and still not fully awake. How long was I out, anyway?”

“About two weeks.”

Gabriel was silent for a few seconds, puffing out his cheeks. “Wow.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and the doctor that had been overseeing Gabe’s care came in, followed by Ephraim who now carried a clipboard.

“Hello, Gabriel,” The doctor greeted. “I’m Dr. Rashad. I’ve been overseeing your care during your stay. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Go for it,” Gabe replied, an easy grin on his face. Rashad did so and Ephraim scribbled on his clipboard. Cas was about to move, but Rashad had grabbed a different chair and pulled it to the other side of the bed, allowing Cas to stay where he was, holding Gabe’s inky hand.

“Can you wiggle your right foot?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Gabriel did so.

“Mind telling me what the hesitation was for?”

“I’m not good at my lefts and rights,” Gabe’s smile took a sheepish tint as Rashad waved it away.

“That’s fine. With how long you were under, I would have been surprised if you had zero difficulty in anything.” After a few more tests, Rashad leaned back in his chair.

“It looks like you’re doing pretty good, especially considering how long you were under and your condition when you arrived. We’re going to hold you for a few more days, just for monitoring, and then we’ll release you. Sound good?”

“Sure thing,” Gabe replied. The doctor and Gabe talked for a few more minutes, then he left. Gabe then noticed his arms.

“Jeez, Cassie, did you do this?” He lifted them up noticing that they were both covered in ink, with wide circles around the parts where the tubes were. Cas blushed a little.

“Um, yeah. I was… Bored, I guess.”

Before Cas could continue, Raphael burst into the room, startling the brothers. He tackled Gabe in a tight hug, causing him to groan.

“You are substantially heavier than Cas, Raph. You’re crushin’ me.”

Unlike Cas, Raph didn’t move away immediately, relishing in his crushing of his brother. He did move, though, eventually, and settled in the chair next to Castiel’s.

“You’re okay,” Raphael breathed. “How do you feel?”

“I feel like half-baked shit, Raph, how do you think I’d feel? I just came out of a coma.” Despite the bite to the words, Gabe was smiling, almost as wide as Cas was. Raph still seemed stunned, even though he’d had the entire drive over for the fact to sink in.

Gabriel was awake.

Gabriel was okay.

Gabriel was  _ alive. _

“So, how’d you all do without me around?”

“Not great,” Cas admitted.

“You wouldn’t know,” Raphael nudged him then directed his sentences to Gabriel. “For the first week, I couldn’t get him to leave your side. That did cause some trouble.”

“Ooh, Cas caused trouble? Do tell.”

“It was mostly trouble for me,” Cas tried to defend himself, knowing it was a lost cause when he saw Raph shaking his head. 

“No, no,” He smirked. “It went so far beyond just you.”

“What happened?”

“Our dear Cassie here decided to go a week without his meds and ended up having some cataplexy attacks. I ended up putting him on house arrest until he got it under control”

“You did  _ what??” _

Cas looked away, feeling color rise to his cheeks. “I was with you. You’re always more important. Whacky Sleep Disorder takes a backseat when your Messed Up Pancreas Disease comes to call. On the upside, though, I made raisin cookies.”

“You did?” Gabe perked up noticeably at the mention of his favorite cookie.

“I did. Way too many, so you gotta get all better soon and have your cookies.”

“We ate  _ so much _ more takeout than we should have,” Raph said this through a soft, breathy laugh after a few moment’s silence. “I just couldn’t get away from school or work long enough to cook something and I didn’t want to throw the responsibility on Gad or Cas.”

“You keep ‘not putting responsibility’ on us and we’re never gonna be able to take care of ourselves,” Cas cut in, an unfamiliar smirk curling his lips. The mischievous expression was rare on him, one more likely to be seen on Gabe than Cas. “I’m starting to think you don’t  _ want _ us out of the house.”

“No, no,” Gabe laughed. “You’re livin’ there till you’re eighty and takin’ care of my old ass. You’re never gonna get out.”

The three of them all laughed at that, a rare sight. Not only was it uncommon for a room to only have Raphael, Gabriel, and Castiel, but it was even more uncommon for all three to be laughing. Castiel was too serious and Raphael always had something else on his mind.

Sitting there, relishing in his brother’s return, Cas came to the same conclusion Raph had a week ago. Gabe was the glue of the family. With him, everything would always turn out fine. How could they not? It’s  _ Gabe _ .

The three of them sat for a while, just talking for a while until Gabe made Raph leave for something to eat. The remaining two decided they needed to let everyone else know he was awake.

**_Cas_ ** **: Good news.**

**_Cas_ ** **: Gabe’s awake.**

**_Uriel_ ** **: seriously?**

Cas turned and snapped a picture of Gabe, who was texting on his own phone, which was charged thanks to Raph and had been given to him just earlier.

**_Cas_ ** **: [Sent A Picture]**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Tru blu, I’m up**

**_Uriel_ ** **: trublu is a water brand**

**_Ambi_ ** **: That’s not even the right way to use that phrase**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Deadass, better?**

**_Ambi_ ** **: Well, language, but fine**

**_Gadreel_ ** **: he just woke up and you worry about language? Is that even that big of a deal?**

**_Nat_ ** **: considering I’m the youngest with a phone, not really**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Make sure the kids know, yeah?**

**_Gadreel_ ** **: obviously. In the car rn**

**_Mike_ ** **: I’ll be over the moment my shift finishes.**

Cas got off the family group chat, his job finished, but looked up as Gabe’s phone buzzed even when texts weren’t coming in on the chat. He leaned over to see his brother texting Dean.

**_Dean_ ** **: Good to hear you’re awake.**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Thanks. Aren’t you driving?**

**_Dean_ ** **: Sam’s texting for me. Was at red light.**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Don’t wreck my car**

**_Dean_ ** **: This is no car, this is a van.**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Don’t wreck my van**

**_Dean_ ** **: Everyone will get to you in one piece. Just need to get Anna and Sophia then I’ll be around to drop them off.**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Drop them off? And not come in?**

**_Dean_ ** **: I mean, I haven’t before.**

**_Gabe_ ** **: Hell nah, you park and get your sweet ass up here.**

Dean didn’t reply, that Cas saw, but his own phone buzzed.

**_Sam_ ** **: Your brother just called my brother’s ass sweet.**

**_Castiel_ ** **: I know, I was watching**

**_Sam_ ** **: What the shit?**

**_Castiel_ ** **: That’s just Gabe.**

Cas sighed and put his phone away, tired of texting people. It wasn’t very long before Raph returned with lunch, ordering Cas to take a nap after eating. Cas was about to argue, but glanced over and saw Gabe’s face.

He looked sad, for some reason. Almost… Lost?

“Who came and visited?” He asked.

“Just the family, as far as I know,” Raph replied. “I was told that the doctors didn’t want anyone but family coming in. Cas would know more who came by.”

“How so?”

Cas froze and looked slowly at Raph. Their eyes met and the elder gave him a look, one that described perfectly what he was about to say, what Cas definitely did not want him doing.

“I couldn’t drag the kid away. He’s spent more time here than at home, I told you that. You know, he gets the stubbornness from Mom and the little crapper has your level of self-preservation skill.”

“Yeah, evidently,” Gabe snorted. Cas looked away, feeling heat crawling up his neck and cheeks. “But seriously, Cassie, eat then go the  _ hell _ to sleep. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen you asleep and I wanna fix that.”

“Aww, why?” Cas grinned. “Am I that much more pleasant?”

“More pleasant-looking, perhaps.” Cas felt a wave of relief at the remark. Up until now, he’d felt like he was in a dream, that Gabe hadn’t really woken up. No dream, however, could replicate Gabe’s sense of humor. Castiel, however, obeyed his brother, curling up on the chair. 

He woke up to loud voices, opening his eyes to see siblings flooding the room. Rachel launched herself across the bed and into Gabe’s arms, the young blonde hugging her brother tight. Hugs went around the room, everyone taking their turn to greet the young man, welcoming him back to the land of the waking.

Eventually, the greeting slowed. Rachel stayed tucked up next to Gabriel, Anna on Uriel’s hip and Sophia on Gadreel’s. Despite this, though, it was pretty crowded until human tetris occurred and Balthazar wiggled himself into the corner behind Gabe’s bed, Nathaniel following.

“Don’t you three have practice?” Gabe asked of Uriel, Nat, and Ambriel.

“Coaches cleared us,” Uri replied. “They kinda understood the circumstances.”

“Well I don’t want you missing ‘cause of me. You gotta be good enough to win your games, can’t let us down.”

“Will you be able to make it?”

“Of course I will, Nat,” Gabe told him firmly. “I would never miss a game. They said they’re only planning to hold me here a day or so for observation.”

“When’d they say that?”

“You were asleep- Hey! Dean!”

Cas turned to look out the door, and sure enough, Sam and Dean were leaning against the wall, both looking vaguely uncomfortable.

“Get your ass in here,” Gabe ordered.

“Are you sure?” Dean asked, shuffling his feet. “Cause we were thinkin’ you’d only want family since you just woke up-”

“Shut it. I heard what you’ve done the past few weeks, you’re family too. Now come here.” Gabe extended one arm, his other still wrapped around Rachel. Stiffly and hesitantly, Dean entered the room, followed by Sam. He leaned down and gave Gabe a quick hug, obviously uncomfortable. It confused Cas for a few minutes before he remembered that not everyone was as touchy-feely as his family was.

The awkward air passed when the Winchester brothers backed away a bit, standing close to the door. Dean was the first to break the following near-silence, his hands jammed into the pockets of his oversized military jacket.

“Good to have you back, man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG!!  
> I HAVE NO EXCUSE!!
> 
> It's also short, only like... 6 pages. I'm sorry guys!
> 
> Weirdly, though, when Gabe in one book is about to get out of the hospital, another goes in.
> 
> (Spoilers) I started this chapter same time I started the fever chapter in Sam's Angels, the one where Dean takes Gabriel to the hospital. I have a thing about hurting Gabe for Some Reason cause in Didn't Expect That, I (SPOILERS) am planning on another way Gabe will end up in the hospital. Why is it always him??


	17. Chapter 17

Sam and Dean hung around during the joyous reunion, but eventually left due to how crowded the room was. On their way out, they passed Michael, who, as always, looked utterly exhausted. However, there was a new kind of life in his eyes, excitement.

Dean paused in the parking lot, twirling the van keys. 

"We probably shouldn't take the van," He murmured. "They're going to need to get the kids back home somehow."

"Ask if you can borrow Michael's or Raphael's?" Sam suggested. Dean nodded and, as one, the two turned back, re-entering the hospital and taking the route to Gabriel's room. It wasn't familiar, since they'd only gone twice, but it only took once for Dean to memorize a path. The door to Gabriel's room was closed, so he knocked, the door swinging open seconds later. 

It was still crowded, but shuffling had been done. Sam thought he saw a few faces missing. 

"Thought you guys had left?" Raphael asked. 

"I realized I still had the keys to the van and that you'd probably need it to get everyone back home," Dean explained. "I was thinking I'd leave it here if you or Michael is willing to let me borrow your car to get me and Sam home?"

"You can take mine," Michael offered from his spot next to Gabriel as he dug his keys from his pocket. Dean wove around various siblings and exchanged the van keys for Michael's. "I'm in the parking garage, level C. Black Honda Civic."

"Alright, thanks. See you guys later."

Various calls of "see you" followed the Winchesters as they walked through the hospital again, this time going to the parking garage - and level C. It didn't take too long to find Michael's car, mostly because Dean hit the panic button and followed the sound. The drive home was quiet and Dean parked Michael's car in the Shirley driveway before the brothers trooped over to their house, opening the door and finding John pacing, phone pressed to his ear. He whipped around at the sound of the door closing, eyes wide and full of panic. 

"Where have you two been!?" He demanded. "I've been trying to call you for half an hour!"

"We were at the hospital. Gabriel woke up and we were told to come say hi."

Sam dug his phone from his pocket as Dean answered their father. "My phone's dead. I must have forgotten to charge it or something."

Dean checked his phone, frowning. "It doesn't say you called me."

John let out a heavy sigh. "You don't know how damn worried I was. I was afraid you'd gotten hurt or- Wait, did you say Gabriel was awake?"

"Yeah," A grin broke through Dean's face. "He's doing a bunch better. I heard him say that he should be released in a few days."

~

Sure enough, Gabriel was released six days later, the day before the first football game of the season. Raphael had come by the school and picked Gadreel up, sending a mass text out with the information later. Castiel had stubbornly refused to leave his side after Gabriel had woken up, and so was still at the hospital. 

That day found Sam and Dean sitting on the Shirley's porch, Rachel, Anna, Balthazar, and Sophia with them. Uriel, Ambriel, and Nathaniel were at practice, Raphael, Gadreel, and Castiel were at the hospital, and Michael and Chuck were at work. 

Soon, Raphael's minivan pulled in the driveway. Castiel and Gadreel hopped out from the back as Raphael parked. The passenger side door swung open and Gadreel and Castiel were almost immediately right there, Raphael following. 

Gabriel swung his legs out and, assisted by Raphael, stood up. Gadreel and Castiel backed out of the way as Raphael helped his younger brother down the driveway and to the house, but the two followed closely, almost hovering over their brother/cousin. 

Dean took a few moments to analyze Gabriel's appearance. Now that he was now longer in a hospital bed, he wore a t-shirt and jeans. He seemed thinner, smaller. Weaker in the way he clung to Raphael's arm as he took small, shaky steps. Despite all of this, a smile was fixed firmly on his face. As the slow procession made its way up the stairs of the porch, Dean could see the fatigue in Gabriel's face. 

In order to keep the younger kids from getting under foot, Sam had Sophia on his lap and Anna sitting next to him, and arm firmly around her shoulders. Dean had Rachel and Balthazar sitting next to him, both of them old enough to know better. 

Raphael helped Gabriel to the couch. He was lying down by the time Sam and Dean joined the group inside. Anna toddled excitedly to her brother, squealing happily as she was lifted and set next to Gabriel's hip. 

"Hey, what day is it?" Gabriel asked suddenly. 

"Um, October 4?" Sam answered first. 

"Oh." He stretched his arms out. "Happy birthday, Bazzy. Come here, kiddo." The young blond, who had been uncharacteristically quiet that day, quickly moved to his cousin's embrace. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything this year."

"It's okay," Balthazar replied and Gabriel kissed the side of his head and released him. "You coming home's the best thing you could'a given me this year."

Gabriel snorted and ruffled his hair. “Well I doubt that.”

Castiel, who had apparently gone to the kitchen, came back in with a small plate.

“I brought you some cookies,” He murmured. “If you want them.”

“Sure I do, Cassie, give ‘em.” Gabriel reached out for the cookies and took the plate from Castiel, Gadreel passing him his monitor that he’d been holding on to.

“You got the pods back in?” Dean asked. Gabriel looked over at him and nodded as he punched information in.

“Supposed to keep a close eye on everything. If I go lower than 70, they’re taking me back to the hospital. They said to be careful with what I eat and try not to be alone.”

“Are you going to the game tomorrow?” Sam asked.

“Only of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

~

The next day found Sam and Dean getting dropped off at school by their father for the second time. They followed the crowd to the bleachers and searched for the Shirleys. Castiel had texted Sam that they’d left about half an hour before they did to get good seats.

“Found them,” Dean pointed, still taller than his brother. Sam followed his fingers to the center top of the bleachers, seeing that multiple rows had been taken up by the huge family. Making their way up the bleachers, it became apparent that everyone was there, save for Uriel and Nathaniel, who would be playing.

“Hey, guys,” Gabriel greeted with a grin. He was wrapped in a blanket due to the chilly breeze. He looked a lot better than he did the day before. Sitting next to him was Raphael and in front of him was Castiel wearing a beanie. Since Castiel didn’t have anyone next to him, Sam took that seat while Dean sat next to Balthazar. 

At some point before the game started, the marching band began playing. Dean looked around but couldn’t see them- they weren’t in the bleachers. At the sound, Gabriel jolted straight up in his seat.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked.

“Pre-game show,” Castiel replied as Gabriel scrambled from his seat, blanket around his shoulders. “Gabe loves watching it.”

“And I’m gonna miss it!” The young man called back. “Come on Sam! Dean! They’re really good!”

Castiel huffed a laugh and stood up, Sam, Dean, Balthazar, and Rachel following suit. “Let’s go,”

The group followed the overexcited Gabriel around the bleachers to stand in front of a building Dean had assumed was storage. There, a group of students holding instruments and dressed in uniforms were standing in an arc made up of multiple rows. It looked like they were just warming up as the drum major -as Gabriel called him- was talking to an adult, probably the band director. He stepped out in front of the band and a hush went over them as he raised his hands.

“Zoot Suit!” He called out and an excited murmur went through the band as the flipped to the music. “One! Two!”

The band burst into a jazzy song that started with a drum solo. Gabriel was bouncing along to the beat, a grin splitting his face in two. Sam found himself copying Gabriel, albeit less energetically, and saw Castiel bouncing on his toes as well. As the song ended, Gabriel jumped as an arm snaked over his shoulders. He looked up to see Michael standing there, having followed from the stands.

“Shout It Out!” There was a clatter as flipbooks hit the pavement. “One! Two!”

During this song, the band actually moved, moving their instruments up and down in unison during certain parts of the song.

“Is that Riley?” Sam asked Castiel, spotting a brunette with a long black instrument with silver keys.

“Sure is,” He replied, standing on his toes and craning his neck to look around the crowd. “I wonder where Charlie and Crowley are, they said they’d be here.”

‘Hey Baby’ started with a tuba solo and band members clapping. Several of the Shirleys joined in and much of the crowd did, Sam eventually following along. At some point, the clapping died away and Riley bolted from the band, skidding to a stop and taking Castiel’s hand, getting down on one knee as her friend burst into laughter. With a huge grin, she began to sing (with much of the crowd) and, looking around, Sam saw that other band members were doing the same, some with the crowd, some with each other.

“Hey, hey baby! I wanna know, if you’ll be my girl!” Was sung twice then Riley and the other band kids scrambled back to their spots.

“What was that?” Dean leaned and asked Gabriel.

“Hey Baby, it’s a thing they do. Like the moving in Shout It Out and The Horse. I don’t know if they’ll play it though.”

As if deciding to prove Gabriel wrong, ‘The Horse’ was the next song called out. During parts of it, band kids were moving all around, pushing their instruments into the air. They ended up running back into their spots, and, at a drum part, started yelling out letters as some kid ran by with a broom between their legs.

“They’re spelling ‘Go Redmen’,” Balthazar explained as the Winchesters watched, mystified. Gabriel was too busy joining in the spelling and most of the other siblings, who had joined at some point, were caught up in the atmosphere.

‘Fight Song’ was the last played and had most of the crowd clapping in time before erupting into applause for the performance. The band marched away and the crowd dispersed. Sam and Dean were about to follow Castiel back to the stands before they heard someone call, “Gabe!” They turned to see someone ambushing Gabriel with a tight hug, laughing uproariously while the blanket tumbled to the ground.

“How you doing? ” The unknown person asked after the two had slapped each other on the back a few times. “I heard you got out last night. I would have visited but they said only family.”

“I’m doin’ a crap-ton better than I was, that’s for sure,” Gabriel replied. “I probably shouldn’t be out of the house yet, but there was no way I was missing a game. You here for Ches?”

“Obviously, it’s his last year. He said Nat was on the team?”

“Sure is, he should be playing tonight.” The two began walking back to the stands, Sam, Dean, and Castiel following. Castiel was holding the forgotten blanket.

“Oh, by the way,” Gabriel interrupted himself. “Ang, these are Sam and Dean, they moved in just after the school year started. Sam, Dean, this is Angeles, he’s an old friend."

“My brother, Winchester, plays football with Uriel and Nathaniel,”

“Did you say-”

“Yeah, my brother’s name is Winchester. He’s named after a gun, I’m named after a song. Our parents were eccentric.”

“Were?” Gabriel muttered jokingly. Angeles shoved him.

“Are, fine.”

“Our last name is Winchester,” Sam told him. He nodded, not looking too surprised.

“Interesting.”

Angeles followed the group back to the stands and sat next to Gabriel. After the band played the national anthem, Sam kind of tuned out of the game. He wasn’t all that interested in football so he was startled when Gabriel, followed by most of the Shirleys, jumped to his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“What just happened?” He had to repeat it a few times to get an answer.

“Uri just got a touchdown,” Ambriel shouted over the band as they began to play.

At some point, Chuck, Michael, and Raphael left, returning with a boat-load of hotdogs that they passed out to the family, including Sam, Dean, and Angeles. They thanked him and began to eat just as halftime started.

The band scattered out onto the field, taking evenly spaced spots. The drum major was on a podium and turned around, doing some sort of salute-thing as the announcer spoke before facing the band. The crowd had, surprisingly, gone quiet and you could just hear a faint “One! Two!” before the band started playing.

Dean hadn’t been paying attention to the announcer, but sat upright as Immigrant Song started playing.

“It’s Led Zeppelin,” Gadreel muttered in his ear. Ambriel had gone somewhere else, Dean saw her standing right next to the announcer’s box, phone out and recording. The band began moving around, making different formations seamlessly. Whole Lotta Love was next, then Stairway to Heaven. Dean had grumbled a bit as the song had been altered, but understood that they couldn’t play an 8-minute song on top of the near 5 minutes they’d already played.

Near the end of the song, all of the instruments but one hushed, notes drifting clearly through the air in a solo- “And she’s buying a stairway to heaven”- the last words of the original song.

“Is that Riley?” Gadreel muttered.

“She didn’t say anything about a solo,” Castiel replied. “I think that is.”

The game ended in a win, Uriel scoring multiple touchdowns and Nathaniel getting one. The group trooped out to the parking lot after the band finished playing celebratory music and gathered by Gabriel’s van.

“We can get you two home, but we’re going out for food after Uri and Nat get out,” Chuck told them. “Angeles, do you and Chester want to come?”

“Sure,” Angeles replied. “Pretty sure most of the team’s gonna be there, since it’s the first game. We’ll drive separate though.”

Eventually, football players began streaming out, slapping each other’s backs and laughing. Uriel and Nathaniel broke off from the group when they saw their family, followed by someone Sam didn’t recognize.

“Great game guys,” Dean called. “Hey Ches.”

“ ‘Sup,” ‘Ches’ nodded. Sam thought this was Winchester, Angeles’ brother, which was confirmed moments later.

"You know him?" He asked.

"Of course I do, I'm a senior."

“Most of the guys are headed over,” Uriel told Chuck and his older brothers over Sam and Dean. “If we wanna get going before they do.”

“Good idea,” Michael nodded. “Alright, we brought Raph’s minivan and Gabe’s van, who wants to go where?”

Gabriel, Uriel, Gadreel, Castiel, Ambriel, Nathaniel, Balthazar, Sam, and Dean ended up in the van while Chuck, Michael, Raphael, Rachel, Anna, and Sophia were in the minivan. The cars were filled with chatter on the ride to wherever they were going and Dean texted John that they were going to be late.

They pulled up to a diner and loaded out, somehow there just before most of the other football players arrived. They got seated and the waitress, an older lady, asked how the game went as she took their orders.

“We come here every home game,” Uriel grinned. “We’ve been coming since Mike’s first game.”

“Been a pain in my ass for twelve years,” The waitress joked as she brought around the drinks, taking multiple trips. “Alright, I know what you guys want, how about you two boys, hm?”

“Do you have pie?” Dean asked, glowing when the waitress- Sam read her nametag that said Doris- confirmed that they did and ordered a slice of cherry. Sam decided to try the hot fudge cake.

“Doris, can I change my order?” Gabriel asked just as she was about to leave.

“You wanna change it?” Doris asked. “I’ll mark my calendar, what’ll it be honey?”

Gabriel got a strawberry milkshake and smiled at Doris. 

“Are you doing better hon?” She asked. “Heard you were in the hospital.”

“Yeah, I’m okay now.”

“What happened?”

“Insulin problem. We got it figured out.”

“Well it’s good to hear you’re doing better-” She was interrupted by the bell over the door jangling and a big group of guys from the team streamed in. “I’m gonna go get these orders put in.”

Sam tensed as he saw Alastair and Azazel in the group. Castiel looked over at him and followed his gaze. Sam’s breath caught in his throat when Alastair caught his gaze and Uriel, who had been watching, stood up.

“I’m gonna go talk to some of the guys,” He told them and left, Gadreel following. Thankfully Dean, who was busy dreaming about his pie, didn’t put Sam’s nervousness to Uriel’s sudden absence.

Gabriel did.

“What’s going on?” He leaned over and asked in a low voice. 

“I’ll explain later,” Sam replied.

“Here, text it,” Sams sighed and pulled out his phone, keeping an eye on Uriel and Gadreel, who were talking to Alastair and Azazel. Abraxas had been pulled nearby and much of the team was listening in.

Before Gabriel could bug Sam to tell him what was going on, the bell jangled again and in walked Riley, Charlie, and Crowley. Riley bypassed the line to be seated and flounced over to the Shirleys, a huge grin on her face.

“You didn’t tell me you had a solo!” Castiel whined as he pulled her into a quick hug. “You sounded great.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” She replied, fiddling with one of her red hearing aids. 

Sam glanced at his brother and punched him when he saw him checking Riley out. She was dressed in a tight white t-shirt and black spandex shorts, her long hair pulled into a ponytail.

“Not cool,” Dean groaned at the hit.

“Don’t do that,” Sam growled. “That’s Castiel’s friend.”

“Don’t worry, I think she’s cute too,” Charlie had shown up at some point, leaning on Riley’s shoulder and apparently, Sam’s chiding wasn’t as quiet as he’d thought.

“I’m not interested, so don’t even try,” Riley put in with a smirk. Dean pouted, but brightened when Doris began bringing the food out.

The night was filled with laughter and merriment and apparently, whatever Uriel and Gadreel said worked, because Alastair, Aazel, and Abraxas didn’t try to bother Sam once. They practically avoided the table like the plague.

Riley, Charlie, and Crowley joined the procession home. Apparently, Castiel had been given permission to stay at Crowley’s house, but needed to grab overnight supplies and Raphael volunteered to take them to Crowley’s.

“Hey, Sam, you wanna come with us?” Riley asked. Sam paused, surprised.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Charlie grinned. “We watch movies and stay up late and make ourselves sick on popcorn.”

“Ask Dad,” Dean encouraged. “Worst he can do is say no.”

To Sam’s surprise, John said he could go and packed a bag quickly. He joined the four- five if you counted Raphael- by the minivan and the group loaded up.

The last thing Sam saw as they pulled out was Dean and Gabriel waving goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this has taken so long! 
> 
> Updates are changing! Watch for an update from Sam's Angels- all will be explained there!
> 
> The pre-game show and songs mentioned are all things my band has done. We didn't do a pre-game show at all this year, nor did we march, but we still played at the games. If you want to look up the songs mentioned, look up
> 
> Zoot Suit Riot arranged by Paul Murtha  
> Shout It Out arranged by Doug Adams  
> Hey Baby arranged by Tom Wallace  
> The Horse (I couldn't find a good recording, the closest I found was one by Auburn University)  
> Immigrant Song arranged by Ralph Ford  
> Whole Lotta Love arranged by Ralph Ford (This is not one YouTube, you'll ave to go to JWPepper.com to find it)  
> Stairway To Heaven arranged by Ralph Ford
> 
> Led Zeppelin was our halftime show so I've played all of these songs, fun fact! I got the solo, but it wasn't a solo- three people played it.
> 
> Sam's Angels to update next!


End file.
